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Unlike plants, which use carbon dioxide and light as sources of carbon and energy, respectively, fungi meet these two requirements by assimilating preformed organic matter; carbohydrates are generally the preferred carbon source. Fungi can readily absorb and metabolize a variety of soluble carbohydrates, such as glucose, xylose, sucrose, and fructose. Fungi are also characteristically well equipped to use insoluble carbohydrates such as starches, cellulose, and hemicelluloses, as well as very complex hydrocarbons such as lignin. Many fungi can also use proteins as a source of carbon and nitrogen. To use insoluble carbohydrates and proteins, fungi must first digest these polymers extracellularly. Saprotrophic fungi obtain their food from dead organic material; parasitic fungi do so by feeding on living organisms (usually plants), thus causing disease.
Fungi secure food through the action of enzymes (biological catalysts) secreted into the surface on which they are growing; the enzymes digest the food, which then is absorbed directly through the hyphal walls. Food must be in solution in order to enter the hyphae, and the entire mycelial surface of a fungus is capable of absorbing materials dissolved in water. The rotting of fruits, such as peaches and citrus fruits in storage, demonstrates this phenomenon, in which the infected parts are softened by the action of the fungal enzymes. In brown rot of peaches, the softened area is somewhat larger than the actual area invaded by the hyphae: the periphery of the brown spot has been softened by enzymes that act ahead of the invading mycelium. Cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are matured by enzymes produced by the fungus Penicillium camemberti, which grows on the outer surface of some cheeses. Some fungi produce special rootlike hyphae, called rhizoids, which anchor the thallus to the growth surface and probably also absorb food. Many parasitic fungi are even more specialized in this respect, producing special absorptive organs called haustoria.