Q1.
Do you observe thread-like structures with a round sac at the tip? Do you also see tiny round structure (spores) inside the sac?
Answer
Yes to both. The thread-like structures are the hyphae, the round sac at the tip of an upright hypha is the sporangium, and the tiny round bodies packed inside it are the spores.
| Structure | What it looks like | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Hyphae | Fine branched threads spreading over and into the bread | Secrete enzymes onto the bread, digest the starch and absorb the products — this is how the fungus feeds |
| Upright stalk | A single hypha standing up from the mat | Lifts the sac clear of the surface into moving air |
| Sac (sporangium) | Round, dark, pin-head sized | Encloses and protects the spores until they are ready |
| Spores | Tiny round bodies, usually one cell each | Dispersal and reproduction — each can germinate into a whole new mould |
Why this is asexual reproduction: a spore is made by mitosis from the parent mould alone. It is not a gamete, it fuses with nothing, and the mould that grows from it carries exactly the parent's chromosome set. One parent, mitosis, identical offspring — the definition of asexual reproduction.