Hypha

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Image:Hyphae.JPG A hypha (plural hyphae) is a long, branching filament found primarily in fungi, but also in fungus-like bacteria such as Actinomyces and Streptomyces.

In fungi, the hyphal filaments form the feeding thallus, called the mycelium. Hyphae are also found enveloping the gonidia in lichens, making up a large part of their structure. A typical hypha consists of a tubular wall, usually made of chitin, which surrounds, supports, and protects the cells that compose a hypha. For most fungi, a cell within a hyphal filament is separated from other cells by internal cross-walls called septa (singular septum).

Some forms of parasitic fungi have a portion of their hyphae modified to form haustoria that are able to penetrate the tissues of a host organism. Similar, yet mutualistic forms of penetrating hyphae are called mycorrhizae and are important in assisting nutrient and water absorption by plants.

1 Growth
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

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Growth

Hyphae do not grow through the same cell division as animal, plant or yeast cells. Hyphae extend by tip growth, and when the single cell has become a longer tube, a septum, or wall grows to separate a part of the tube as the new cell with its own nucleus copied from the first nucleus. Hyphae grow by branching their tubes to form new cells, as well as by extending them.

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