Surprising Kinship: Fungi Are Closer to Animals Than Plants!

This surprising kinship is evident in several biological features. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophs, meaning they cannot produce their own food through photosynthesis; instead, they absorb nutrients from their surroundings. Both fungi and many animals also synthesize chitin, a robust carbohydrate that forms the cell walls of fungi and the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans. These shared characteristics highlight a common ancestor that diverged from the plant lineage hundreds of millions of years ago, establishing fungi as a kingdom distinct from both plants and animals.