The Quest for Food (Nutrition)

HOW DOES CLAVICEPS PURPUREA GET ITS NUTRITION?
Ergot, as we know, is a fungus and cannot produce its own food. This means that it is not photosynthetic like plants, but it is heterotrophic. Animals are also heterotrophic, but fungi are heterotrophic in a different way because they acquire their nutrition by exoenzymes. Exoenzymes are released at the ends of the hyphae and used to digest the material outside of the organism before it is ingested. Ergot releases exoenzymes that are used to break down the components that make up the cell wall of the plants that it is infecting. For example, it uses Ca²⁺ ions to break down the pectin as well as other components to break down the lignin and cellulose. After it does this, we see the coolest part of the parasitic nature of this fungus. As you know, ergot is a parasite, but more specifically, it is a biotrophic parasite, which means that it doesn't kill its host. Claviceps purpurea keeps its host alive and then taps into its vascular system. The vascular system in plants distributes the water and nutrients throughout the organism. By tapping into the vascular system of the plant, ergot ensures that it has a constant nutrition supply and never has to overcome any problems when it comes to obtaining food. That is one smart fungus!

WHO ARE THE HOSTS FOR CLAVICEPS PURPUREA?
Hosts for this organism are all open pollinating plants. Members of the families Secale, Pooidea, Poaceae, Juncaceae are commonly parasitized. Some common organisms that serve as hosts for this organism include rye, barley and wheat but it does NOT infect corn. The point to remember is that it always infects open-pollinated plants.

HOW DOES ERGOT TRANSPORT ITS NUTRIENTS ONCE THEY'RE INGESTED?
Good question! The cool thing about fungi is that there really are no definitive "cells" within the organism. What I mean by that is that nothing is compartmentalized. Nuclei and other organelles are free to move throughout the entire organism because the only separation between the cells are called the septa, which are like cells walls but they have a hole in the middle that allows for the nutrients and everything else to move throughout the organism. They move everything by cytoplasmic streaming. Like animals, fungi store their food as glycogen.

If you thought that was cool, make sure to check out the CLASSIFICATION page to learn even more! Or go back HOME.