In this chapter I present an account of the ways in which fungal hyphal systems obtain, absorb, metabolise, reprocess and redistribute nutrients. The description is relatively brief and more details can be found in texts on fungal physiology, such as Jennings (1995).

This material is relevant here for a number of reasons. First, these metabolic and biochemical activities of fungi provide the background and context within which their differentiation and morphogenesis occur. In discussing differentiation and morphogenesis there will be frequent need to refer to biochemical processes and it is useful to have those details readily to hand for reference. Second, fungi adapt the metabolism which normally serves their vegetative hyphal growth phases in specific ways to provide for and support their morphogenesis. Consequently, description of the basic metabolism is a valuable preparation for understanding the ways in which it is adapted. Third, description of basic metabolism provides another opportunity to make comparisons with the other eukaryotic kingdoms and to show, again, how kingdom Fungi make use of advanced and sophisticated mechanisms in the management of their cell biology.

Almost all of the processes described in this chapter will appear in some guise again in discussions of fungal morphogenesis in later chapters.

Nutrients in nature

Texts on fungal physiology usually present lists of chemicals that fungi can utilise when added to culture media.