Ascus vs. Basidium — What's the Difference?

An ascus (plural asci; from Greek ἀσκός ảskós 'skin bag') is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division.

A basidium (pl., basidia) is a microscopic sporangium (or spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly coiled secondary mycelium, a dikaryon.

A membranous, often club-shaped structure in ascomycetes in which karyogamy occurs, followed by the formation of eight haploid ascospores.

A small, specialized club-shaped structure typically bearing four basidiospores at the tips of minute projections. The basidium is unique to basidiomycetes and distinguishes them from other kinds of fungi.

(mycology) A sac-shaped cell present in ascomycete fungi; it is a reproductive cell in which meiosis and an additional cell division produce eight spores.

(mycology) A small structure, shaped like a club, found in the Basidiomycota division of fungi, that bears four spores at the tips of small projections. 19

A small membranous bladder or tube in which are inclosed the seedlike reproductive particles or sporules of lichens and certain fungi.

A special oblong or pyriform cell, with slender branches, which bears the spores in that division of fungi called Basidiomycetes, of which the common mushroom is an example.

Saclike structure in which ascospores are formed through sexual reproduction of ascomycetes

A small club-shaped structure typically bearing four basidiospores at the ends of minute projections; unique to basidiomycetes