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How do fungal enzymes digest food outside the fungal body?

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Two Amanita pantherina mushrooms with brown caps covered in white spots grow among moss and fallen leaves. — fungus A pair of panther cap mushrooms (*Amanita pantherina*). Closely related to the death cap mushroom (*Amanita phalloides*), the panther cap is highly poisonous.

Fungi obtain their nutrition through a process known as absorptive nutrition, which involves the external digestion of organic matter.12

To feed, fungi secrete biological catalysts called enzymes directly onto the surface of the material they are growing on. These enzymes break down complex polymers—such as carbohydrates (including cellulose and starches) and proteins—into simpler, soluble molecules.312

Once the food has been converted into a solution, it is absorbed directly through the walls of the hyphae, the branching filaments that make up the fungal mycelium. In some cases, these enzymes act ahead of the invading mycelium, softening the substrate before the fungus physically reaches it. While most fungi absorb nutrients across their entire surface, some parasitic species utilize specialized structures called haustoria to penetrate and extract nutrients from the tissues of living hosts.13