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Coprinus Sterquilinus
''Coprinus sterquilinus'', the midden ink cap, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It grows on animal dung and occurs in Europe, Asia and America. Description ''C. sterquilinus'' has an ellipsoid or ovoid cap, some by when closed, becoming conical and then flattening out to a width of . It is white, flocculous and fibrillose when young, becoming more scaly with a creamy centre as it matures. There are more than fifty gills, white at first, turning to grey and then black. The stipe or stem is slender, tall, with a moveable ring just above the slightly bulbous base. The spores are ellipsoid and very large at 17–26 by 10–15 µm, very dark reddish-brown to black. Distribution and habitat The species has an extensive range in Europe, Asia and America, but is uncommon. It grows in dung and on manure heaps, particularly on horse manure. Biology ''Coprinus sterquilinus'' is closely related to the shaggy ink cap (''Coprinus comatus''). Both share the character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agaricaceae
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was published by French botanist François Fulgis Chevallier in 1826. It is named after the type genus ''Agaricus'', originally circumscribed by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work ''Species Plantarum''. In his authoritative 1986 classification of the Agaricales, Rolf Singer divided the Agaricaceae into four tribes distinguished largely by spore color: ''Leucocoprineae'', ''Agariceae'', ''Lepioteae'', and ''Cystodermateae''. Genera once classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Battarreaceae, Lycoperdaceae, and Mycenastraceae have since been moved to the Agaricaceae based on molecular phylogenetics studies. According to a standard reference text, the Agaricaceae contains 85 genera and 1340 species. Description Agaricaceae species use a wide variety o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprinus Comatus
''Coprinus comatus'', the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales—this is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and deliquesce ('melt') into a black liquid filled with spores (hence the "ink cap" name). This mushroom is unusual because it will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores. When young it is an excellent edible mushroom provided that it is eaten soon after being collected (it keeps very badly because of the autodigestion of its gills and cap). If long-term storage is desired, microwaving, sauteing or simmering until limp will allow the mushrooms to be stored in a refrigerator for several days or froz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autolysis (biology)
In biology, autolysis, more commonly known as self-digestion, refers to the destruction of a cell through the action of its own enzymes. It may also refer to the digestion of an enzyme by another molecule of the same enzyme. The term derives from the Greek αὐτο- ("self") and λύσις ("splitting"). Biochemical mechanisms of cell destruction Autolysis is uncommon in living adult organisms and usually occurs in necrotic tissue as enzymes act on components of the cell that would not normally serve as substrates. These enzymes are released due to the cessation of active processes in the cell that provide substrates in healthy, living tissue; autolysis in itself is not an active process. In other words, though autolysis resembles the active process of digestion of nutrients by live cells, the dead cells are not actively digesting themselves as is often claimed, and as the synonym self-digestion suggests. Failure of respiration and subsequent failure of oxidative phosphorylat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basidium
A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-coiled secondary myceliuma dikaryon. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the Basidiomycota. A basidium usually bears four sexual spores called basidiospores; occasionally the number may be two or even eight. In a typical basidium, each basidiospore is borne at the tip of a narrow prong or horn called a sterigma (), and is forcibly discharged upon maturity. The word ''basidium'' literally means "little pedestal", from the way in which the basidium supports the spores. However, some biologists suggest that the structure more closely resembles a club. An immature basidium is known as a basidiole. Structure Most basidiomycota have single celled basidia (holobasidia), but in some groups basidia can be multicel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or more cells surrounded by a tubular cell wall. In most fungi, hyphae are divided into cells by internal cross-walls called "septa" (singular septum). Septa are usually perforated by pores large enough for ribosomes, mitochondria, and sometimes nuclei to flow between cells. The major structural polymer in fungal cell walls is typically chitin, in contrast to plants and oomycetes that have cellulosic cell walls. Some fungi have aseptate hyphae, meaning their hyphae are not partitioned by septa. Hyphae have an average diameter of 4–6 µm. Growth Hyphae grow at their tips. During tip growth, cell walls are extended by the external assembly and polymerization of cell wall components, and the internal production of new cell membrane. The S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. Almost all metabolic processes in the cell need enzyme catalysis in order to occur at rates fast enough to sustain life. Metabolic pathways depend upon enzymes to catalyze individual steps. The study of enzymes is called ''enzymology'' and the field of pseudoenzyme analysis recognizes that during evolution, some enzymes have lost the ability to carry out biological catalysis, which is often reflected in their amino acid sequences and unusual 'pseudocatalytic' properties. Enzymes are known to catalyze more than 5,000 biochemical reaction types. Other biocatalysts are catalytic RNA molecules, called ribozymes. Enzymes' specificity comes from their unique three-dimensional structures. Like all catalysts, enzymes increase the reaction ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Webster (mycologist)
John Webster (25 May 1925 – 27 December 2014) was an internationally renowned mycologist, head of biological sciences at the University of Exeter in England, and twice president of the British Mycological Society. He is recognised for determining the physiological mechanism underpinning fungal spore release, though is probably best known by students of mycology for his influential textbook, ''Introduction to Fungi''. Early life Born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, John Webster, along with his twin brother, was the youngest of four children. He studied for his degree at the University of Nottingham between 1943 and 1945. After gaining a first class honours degree, he moved to Hull University in 1946 to become assistant lecturer. There he married his wife, Brom, in 1950. They had two children. He then went to the University of Sheffield to embark on his PhD (on the microfungi associated with the grass ''Dactylis glomerata''), which he completed in 1954. He was subsequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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