Question

being diploid increase an individual’s genetic diversity, why does your group think that most fungi spend the majority of their life cycle as a haploid or dikaryotic individual? (HINT: think about the idea of "trade-offs" for adaptations in this question)

Answer 1

Most fungi are multicellular, but some exist as single cells. Fungi spend most of their life cycle in the haploid state. They form diploid cells only during sexual reproduction.

Almost all fungi reproduce asexually by producing spores. A fungi spore is a haploid cell produced by mitosis from a haploid parent cell. It is genetically identical to the parent cell. Fungi spores can develop into new haploid individuals without being fertilized.

Sexual reproduction also occurs in virtually all fungi. This involves mating between two haploid hyphae. During mating, two haploid parent cells fuse, forming a diploid spore called a zygospore. The zygospore is genetically different from the parents. After the zygospore germinates, it can undergo meiosis, forming haploid cells that develop into new hyphae.