There are two types of bacterial spore, the exospore and the endospore. Ī limited number of bacterial species are also capable of forming spores in response to environmental stress. Fungal spores can be seen as ‘offspring’ of the main organism. Fungal spores, in a similar way to plant seeds and bacterial spores, are also robust and designed to survive in the environment for extended periods of time.
#Bacterial spore free
Some even create their own weather to aid dispersal – for example, mushrooms release water vapour, which cools the surrounding air, pulling spores released by the mushroom, down and away from it allowing dispersion to occur.įungal spores have evolved to aid the dispersal of the organism to areas free from competition or high in nutrients. They produce tens of thousands of fungal spores which disperse into the air. Prominent examples of fruiting bodies are mushrooms and toadstools, these fruiting bodies are designed for the same purpose.
Hyphae in stressed areas on the mycelium begin to form fruiting bodies which grow up into the air. When the levels of nutrients are low, or other stress factors are encountered (lack of moisture for example) then a change occurs in how the Fungi grows. They absorb the nutrients from an environment rich in food. Individual strands of the fungi, known as hyphae extrude digestive enzymes into the surrounding nutrients. When nutrients are abundant fungi exist as a filamentous mass ( mycelium). It is not only bacteria that demonstrate sporulation. The function of a bacterial spore is much the same. One is to protect the genetic material stored within the seed and the second is to aid its dispersion from the parent plant.
Seeds have two basic functions to perform in order to be successful. While the seed from a plant can and does give rise to a new plant, it remains dormant until conditions for germination are favourable. Seeds and pollen from the plant kingdom are a good comparison here. What is a microbial spore and what is it not? Broadly speaking spores are a survival mechanism utilised by the microorganism in times of stress, starvation, or attack.
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