Question

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.
_____________is the method of sexual reproduction where two hyphae meet together.

Answer 1

The first stage after the process of syngamy. This is also the most reduced form of sexual reproduction. It is the fusion of two cells, not their nuclei.

Complete answer:
Somatogamy is the process of fusion of two cells but not the nuclei especially as the first stage of syngamy. Or it can be said that the fusion of two somatic hyphae acts as gametes for two sexually compatible mycelia. This is the most reduced form of sexual reproduction.
In higher basidiomycetes, like mushrooms, specialized sex organs are totally absent. In these fungi, male and female nuclei are brought together by a fusion of vegetative hyphae originating from mycelia of opposite mating types. Both Ascomycota and Basidiomycota have a special phase in their life cycle, like the dikaryotic phase, when two haploid cells are in one hyphal segment. Dikaryotic hyphae developed when two hyphae fuse but their nuclei do not. Plasmogamy is a stage in the sexual reproduction of fungi, in which the cytoplasm of two parental cells fuses without the nuclei fusion, bringing two haploid nuclei together in the same cell. This state is followed by karyogamy, where two nuclei fuse together and then undergo meiosis to produce spores. The fusion of two somatic hyphae acting as gametes for two sexually compatible mycelia. This is the most reduced form of sexual reproduction. It is very common, typical for basidiomycetes, but not prevalent in ascomycetes.
Hence, Somatogamy is the correct answer.

Note: The dikaryotic state that comes after plasmogamy will often persist for many generations before the fungi undergo karyogamy. However, in the lower fungi, plasmogamy is immediately followed by karyogamy.