Question

A coprophilous fungus is
A Trichoderma
B Pilobolus
C Fusarium
D All of above

Answer 1

Coprophilous fungi are those types of saprobic fungi that grow animal dung. Saprobic fungi are those which get their nutrition from the process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion which involves the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. The hardy spores of coprophilous species of fungi are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation and are excreted along with plant matter.

Complete answer:
Coprophilous fungi release their spores to the surrounding vegetation which is then eaten up by the herbivores. The spores then remain in the animal as the plants are digested, pass through the intestine, and finally defecate. The fruiting bodies of the fungi then grow from animal feces. It is essential that the spores of the species then reach new plant material, the remaining spores in the feces will produce nothing. Some species have developed means of discharging spores a large distance. Although not all coprophilous fungi lead to the formation of mushrooms, there are many forms of mushrooms. An example of the coprophilous fungi is the genus Pilobolus which develops the means of discharging a spore at a large distance. The fruiting bodies of this genus will suddenly rupture, sending the content over 2 meters away.
Animal feces provides an environment that is rich in nitrogenous material along with various enzymes from the animal digestive system. The spores themselves survive digestion by being particularly thick-walled, allowing them to flourish on feces with minimum competition from other organisms.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B)

Note: Coprophilous fungi are those which can grow on animal dung. They get their nutrition by the saprotrophic type of nutrition as they feed on dead and decaying materials. The fungi are thick-walled so they flourish well on the animal excreta and have less competition with the other organism for the survival rate.