Q.26 - Biology

Question

What is the advantage for a basidiomycete to produce a showy and fleshy fruiting body? 

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

By ingesting spores and disseminating them in the environment as waste, animals act as agents of dispersal. The benefit to the fungus outweighs the cost of producing fleshy fruiting bodies.

Step1. Introduction

Basidiomycota are filamentous fungi composed of hyphae and reproduce sexually via the formation of specialized club-shaped end cells called basidia that normally bear external meiospores (usually four). These specialized spores are called basidiospores. 

Step2. Explanation

The advantage for a basidiomycete to produce a showy and fleshy fruiting body :-

• Fruiting body attracts animals which helps with pollination
• Gametes are located in fruiting body, so animals eat it and poop out seeds which are then spread to the males. This leads to fertilization, or reproduction of more offspring.