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The upcoming discussion will update you about the differences between algae and fungi.
Difference # Algae:
1. The algae possess chlorophyll which in some of them is masked by other pigments such as brown, red, etc.
2. With the help of chlorophyll, the algae are able to synthesize their own carbohydrate food and thus are called autotrophic or autophytic in their mode of nutrition.
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3. The algal thallus is composed of true parenchyma cells. The unit of structure of an algal thallus thus is a cell.
4. The cell wall in algae typically consists of cellulose.
5. The food reserve is chiefly in the form of cellulose.
6. The algae usually grow in habitats where light is available.
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7. The algae grow in water or damp soil and something as epiphytes rarely as endophytes.
8. The sexual apparatus increases in complexity from the simple to the higher forms.
Difference # Fungi:
1. The fungi lack chlorophyll.
2. Lacking chlorophyll, the fungi are unable to synthesize their own organic food. They get it readymade from external sources either by living as parasites or saprophytes. For this reason, the fungi are referred to as heterotrophic or heterophytic in their mode of nutrition.
3. The fungal thallus which is termed the mycelium is not formed by the division and differentiation of cells but is composed of a false tissue called pseudoparenchyma. The latter is an interwoven mass of fine, tubular structures called the hyphae. Thus the unit of structure of a fungal thallus or mycelium is a hypha and not a cell.
4. The cell or hyphal wall generally consists of fungus cellulose often called chitin.
5. The reserve food invariably accumulates in the form of glycogen and not starch
6. Fungi generally grow in darkness and dim light.
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7. The fungi grow in a wide variety of habitats; as parasites in the tissues of the plants and animals causing disease; as saprophytes in decaying organic matter in soil or water.
8. There is gradual and progressive simplification and ultimate elimination of the sexual apparatus from the lower to higher for.
