The Fungal Colony

Fungi are among the simplest of eukaryotes. Their study has provided useful paradigms for processes that are fundamental to the way in which higher cells grow, divide, establish form and shape, and communicate with one another. The majority of work has been carried out on the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but in nature unicellular fungi are greatly outnumbered by filamentous forms for which our knowledge is much less well developed.