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which sunlight is changed to the
sugars glucose and sucrose.
Fungi need these sugars to
survive, and the plants provide this
needed energy source.
(Remember that fungi are
heterotrophs, so they can’t make
the energy on their own.) In return
for the food, the fungus provides
minerals and water for the roots of
Figure 7 – The moss in this picture the plant. This is mutualistic
benefits from sunlight, while the tree is symbiosis because each organism
unaffected, an example of commensalism. benefits from being around the
other one, and provides something
in return.
Another interesting example of
mutualism are lichens. Lichens are
crusty, hard organisms that can be
found on trees, walls, logs, and
rocks. What makes lichens so
unique is that they are really two
organisms in one. Cells from an
algae or bacteria live inside of a
fungus. Both organisms provide
Figure 8 – Many fungi, like this sticky nutrients for the other. Their
white mushroom called Amanita thiersii, relationship is mutualistic.
have mutualistic relationships with the
plants around them. Read more about
this relationship below.
Fungi and Mutualism
As shown in the figure above, fungi
grow close to the roots of many
plants. The plant and the fungus
help each other out by “feeding”
each other. The plant undergoes
the photosynthesis, a process in
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