Anatomy

• Unlike plants, fungi cannot synthesize their own food, so---like animals---they must obtain it from other sources. Fungi produce long strands called hyphae, structures that move through moist environments and absorb the nutrients the fungi require for survival.
  
  

Invasion

• At the ends of hyphae are appresoria, structures that allow the fungus to penetrate plant tissue. As the Ohio State University Extension explains, enzymes and pressure created by the appresoria let the hyphae invade the plant's cells, where they extract the plant's nutrients.
  
  

Significance

• In animals, most infections occur via breaks in the skin. Because the appresoria may invade even healthy, unbroken plant tissue, fungal diseases are widespread in the plant kingdom.