Types of fruiting bodies in fungi

• The fruiting body is a specialized structure formed by the aggregation and differentiation of the vegetative mycelium, the assimilative phase in fungi. • These are the structures in which or within which meiospores or mitospores or even some vegetative perennating structures like stromata and sclerotia are produced in fungi i.e., the site of reproduction. • Fruiting body shows morphogenetic plasticity. All the cells of a fruiting body except for the meiocytes are totipotent. • Morphogenesis is compartmentalised into different subroutines.. These separate subroutines can be recognised at the levels of organs (e.g., cap, stem, veil), tissues (e.g., hymenophore, pileipellis), cells (e.g., basidium, paraphysis, cystidium) and cellular components (e.g. uniform wall growth, growth in girth, growth in length, growth in wall thickness). They are distinct genetically and physiologically and may run in parallel or in sequence. • Fruit body morphogenesis is effected by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. • Positive autotropism is essential to cause hyphae to grow together for hyphal branches to cooperate and coordinate their activities, to create a multicellular fruit body. • Fruiting bodies exhibit great diversity in morphological shapes, colors and sizes. Read less