COPROPHILOUS FUNGI

COPROPHILOUS FUNGI

Coprophilus fungi are a type of saprophyte fungi that grow on animal dung, mostly of herbivorous animal. The Hardy spores of coprophilus species are unwintingly consumed by hervibores from vagetation, and are excreated along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish  in the feces , before releasing their spores to the surrounding area.

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LIFE CYCLE

Coprophilus fungi release their spores to the surrounding vegetation, which is then eaten by hervibores. The spore then remain in the animal as the plants are digested pass through the animal intestines and are finally defecated. The fruiting bodies of the fungi  the grow from the animal feces. It is essential that the spores of the species then reach new plant material, spores remaining in the feces will produce nothing, As such, some species have developed means of discharging spores a large distance. An example of this is the genus Pilobolus. Fruiting bodies of pilobilous will suddenly rupture, sending the contents over two metre aways.

Animal feces provide an environmental rich in nitrogenous materials as well as various enzyme from the animal digestive system. The spores themselves survive diegestion by being particularly thick-walled, allowing them to germinates in the dung with minimum competition from other organisms. This thick wall is often broken down during diegestion, readying the spore for germination. The spore are so hard that sample of dried dung can later be dehydrated, allowing the fungus fruits weeks later. 

DISTRIBUTION 

The distribution of coprophilus fungi is closely linked to the distribution of the herbivores on which they rely, such as rabits , deer, cattle horses and sheep. Some species is rely on a specific species for dung, for instance , Coprinus radiatus and Panaeolus campanulatus grow almost exclusively on horse feces , while other , such as Panaeolus sphinctrinus can grow on any feces or  even just particularly fertile soil. Further some species, can be found in large number in areas where manure has been  used as a soil fertilizers, such as in gardens. Some coprophilus fungi are also known to grow from the dung of omnivores, or even carnivores.