What is the body of a fungus made of?
by 
Erin Albrecht
ANSWERS: 1
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Most fungal organisms consist of a mass of threadlike filaments called hyphae. An interwoven mass of hyphae is called a mycelium. Each hyphae is composed of a chain of fungal cells, or in some organisms, a continuous cytoplasm with many nuclei. The hyphae is surrounded by a plasma membrane and a cell wall, which is made of the polysaccharide chitin, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, in contrast to plant cell walls made of cellulose. The hyphae in a fungus branch off of one another to form the mycelium, and are all ultimately connected to the original hyphae. Though fungal cells and hyphae are nonmotile, and never have flagellated cells of any kind, a fungal mycelium can expand quickly through very rapid mitotic growth, adding up to a kilometer of new hyphae per day. For large underground mycelia, fruiting bodies grow above ground, such as the mushroom, which is only an extension of an underground mycelium. These fruiting bodies are the reproductive structures of the mycelium.
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