Basidiomycota is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basidiomycota includes these groups: agarics, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, chanterelles, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, mirror yeasts, and Cryptococcus, the human pathogenic yeast.
Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast belonging to the class Tremellomycetes and an obligate aerobe that can live in both plants and animals. Its teleomorph is a filamentous fungus, formerly referred to Filobasidiella neoformans. In its yeast state, it is often found in bird excrement. Cryptococcus neoformans can cause disease in apparently immunocompetent, as well as immunocompromised, hosts.
Tremella mesenterica is a common jelly fungus in the family Tremellaceae of the Agaricomycotina. It is most frequently found on dead but attached and on recently fallen branches, especially of angiosperms, as a parasite of wood decay fungi in the genus Peniophora. The gelatinous, orange-yellow fruit body of the fungus, which can grow up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) diameter, has a convoluted or lobed surface that is greasy or slimy when damp. It grows in crevices in bark, appearing during rainy weather. Within a few days after rain it dries into a thin film or shriveled mass capable of reviving after subsequent rain. This fungus occurs widely in deciduous and mixed forests and is widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions that include Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. Although considered bland and flavorless, the fungus is edible. Tremella mesenterica produces carbohydrates that are attracting research interest because of their various biological activities.
Fungi are a diverse group of organisms that employ a huge variety of reproductive strategies, ranging from fully asexual to almost exclusively sexual species. Most species can reproduce both sexually and asexually, alternating between haploid and diploid forms. This contrasts with most multicellular eukaryotes such as mammals, where the adults are usually diploid and produce haploid gametes which combine to form the next generation. In fungi, both haploid and diploid forms can reproduce – haploid individuals can undergo asexual reproduction while diploid forms can produce gametes that combine to give rise to the next generation.
Cryptococcus gattii, formerly known as Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii, is an encapsulated yeast found primarily in tropical and subtropical climates. Its teleomorph is Filobasidiella bacillispora, a filamentous fungus belonging to the class Tremellomycetes.
Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Although fungi are eukaryotic, many pathogenic fungi are microorganisms. Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans; their study is called "medical mycology". Fungal infections kill more people than either tuberculosis or malaria—about 2 million people per year.
A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.
Homothallic refers to the possession, within a single organism, of the resources to reproduce sexually; i.e., having male and female reproductive structures on the same thallus. The opposite sexual functions are performed by different cells of a single mycelium.
The Tremellales are an order of fungi in the class Tremellomycetes. The order contains both teleomorphic and anamorphic species, most of the latter being yeasts. All teleomorphic species in the Tremellales are parasites of other fungi, though the yeast states are widespread and not restricted to hosts. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous.
Papiliotrema is a genus of fungi in the family Rhynchogastremaceae. Filamentous states, where known, form septate basidia with haustorial cells indicating they are parasites of other fungi. Most species are currently known only from their yeast states. More than 20 species have been referred to Papiliotrema.
Sporobolomyces is a genus of fungi in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina. Species produce both yeast states and hyphal states. The latter form teliospores from which auricularioid (tubular and laterally septate) basidia emerge, bearing basidiospores. Yeast colonies are salmon-pink to red. Sporobolomyces species occur worldwide and have been isolated (as yeasts) from a wide variety of substrates. They produce ballistoconidia that are bilaterally symmetrical, they have Coenzyme Q10 or Coenzyme Q10(H2) as their major ubiquinone, they lack xylose in whole-cell hydrolysates, and they cannot ferment sugars. One species, Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, is known to cause disease in humans.
Arturo Casadevall is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is an internationally recognized expert in infectious disease research, with a focus on fungal and bacterial pathogenesis and basic immunology of antibody structure-function. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Joseph Heitman is an American physician-scientist focused on research in genetics, microbiology, and infectious diseases. He is the James B. Duke Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine.
Phaeotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Phaeotremellaceae. All Phaeotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Fifteen or so species of Phaeotremella are currently recognized worldwide. Tremella sanguinea, shown to be a Phaeotremella species by DNA sequencing, is cultivated in China as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
Phaeotremella foliacea is a species of fungus in the family Phaeotremellaceae. It produces brownish, frondose, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on the mycelium of Stereum sanguinolentum, a fungus that grows on dead attached and recently fallen branches of conifers. It is widespread in north temperate regions. In the UK it has the recommended English name leafy brain and has also been called jelly leaf and brown witch's butter. Prior to 2017, the name Tremella foliacea was also applied to similar-looking species on broadleaf trees, now distinguished as Phaeotremella frondosa and Phaeotremella fimbriata.
Naematelia is a genus of fungi in the family Naemateliaceae. All Naematelia species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. When produced, Basidiocarps ,, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi."Four species of Naematelia are currently recognized worldwide. One species, Naematelia aurantialba, is commercially cultivated for food.
Pseudotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Bulleraceae. All Pseudotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Four species of Pseudotremella are currently recognized worldwide. Two of these species are, as yet, only known from their yeast states.
Phaffia is a genus of fungi in the order Cystofilobasidiales. The genus comprises orange-red yeasts that form basidia directly from yeast cells, lack hyphae throughout their life cycle, and produce astaxanthin, a carotenoid used as an additive in animal feed to enhance colour in shrimp, salmon, and poultry eggs and also as an antioxidant in dietary supplements.
Occultifur is a genus of fungi in the family Cystobasidiaceae. Species are parasites of other fungi and, microscopically, have auricularioid basidia and basidiospores that germinate by yeast cells. Several species are currently only known from their yeast states. The genus is distributed worldwide.
Kriegeria is a genus of fungi in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina. The genus is currently monotypic, containing the single species Kriegeria eriophori. The species is a plant pathogen, parasitic on sedges, and produces auricularioid basidia and basidiospores that germinate to form a yeast state.
