The world of biology is full of a variety of organisms of all shapes and sizes, ranging from tiny bacteria to the gigantic blue whale, from small plants to humungous trees. Among such organisms, are yeast and fungi. One can say that yeast and fungi are very closely related.
Yeast vs Fungus
The main difference between yeast and fungus is that while yeast is a microscopic organism that is always unicellular and it uses budding as the process for reproduction, fungus is found as both unicellular as well as multicellular and the process of reproduction is via spores.
Yeast is a unicellular organism, which is actually a fungus and consists of a single oval-shaped cell. The method of reproduction of yeast is budding. Budding is the process where, when a cell is ready to reproduce, it starts growing another tiny cell on its body, this cell then grows till full size and then when it is ready to survive on its own, it breaks off from the parent cell.
On the other hand, Fungus denotes a kingdom of more than 80,000 different organisms. However, the main characteristics of these organisms are that it can be unicellular or multicellular, and reproduces via spores. Spores are small seed-like objects that can travel using the wind or on the fur of other animals. When it lands in a suitable place, it grows into another fungus. Fungus mostly grows in damp areas, where there might be decaying organic matter to feed on.
Comparison Table Between Yeast and Fungus
| Parameters of Comparison | Yeast | Fungus |
| Definition | Yeast is a unicellular fungus, which is oval in shape. | The fungus is a kingdom, which contains more than 80,000 different organisms, which come in various shapes and sizes. |
| Availability | Yeast is pretty common in nature and almost found everywhere. | Fungus usually grows in dark and damp places, where there is decaying organic matter to feed on. |
| Reproduction | Budding. | Spores. |
| Use | Used in the fermentation process. | Used to make antibiotics. |
| Diseases | Can cause vaginal infection in humans. | Usually the cause of skin diseases like ringworms, and athletes foot. |
What is Yeast?
Yeast is a microscopic fungus that is oval in shape and reproduces via budding. Budding is the process where, when a cell is ready to reproduce, it starts growing another tiny cell on its body, this cell then grows till full size and then when it is ready to survive on its own, it breaks off from the parent cell. Yeast is colorless and can be found almost anywhere, like plants, animals, flowers, fruits, trees, etc. Usually, the yeast has a mutually beneficial relationship with living animals and is found to reside on their skin. This mutually beneficial relationship is called symbiosis. However, there are a few types of yeast that can live as a parasite too.
Yeast is very useful in the baking and alcohol industry. This is because they cause fermentation due to their natural biological processes.
Yeasts use organic substances as a source of their nutrition and growth. These organisms are called chemoorganotrophs. Yeasts can respirate either aerobically or anaerobically, however, for energy production, yeast uses aerobic methods only.
There are yeasts that are pathogenic in nature, which means they can cause infections in the human body if the conditions suffice. People whose immunity is compromised, such as patients of HIV/AIDS can be affected by these pathogenic yeasts, and as a result, get unwanted infections. Usually, the pathogenic yeasts have a strong, thick polysaccharide wall surrounding their cell. This prevents the white blood cells of the body from recognizing the foreign cell, and hence they escape it. However, despite the few yeasts which cause us harm, a majority of them have been found to be useful in the production of various substances as well as contribute to a lot of scientific development.