Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the "ascus", a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.
Heinrich Anton de Bary was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist . He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the founder of modern mycology. His extensive and careful studies of the life history of fungi and contribution to the understanding of algae and higher plants established landmarks in biology.
Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the group of entomopathogenic fungi. It is used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests, including termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids and various beetles. Its use in the control of bed bugs and malaria-transmitting mosquitos is under investigation.
An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can kill or seriously disable insects. They do not need to enter an insect's body through oral ingestion or intake; rather, they directly penetrate though the exoskeleton.
Metarhizium robertsii is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and causes disease in various insects by acting as a parasitoid. It is a mitosporic fungus with asexual reproduction, which was formerly classified in the form class Hyphomycetes of the phylum Deuteromycota.
Erysiphales are an order of ascomycete fungi. The order contains one family, Erysiphaceae. Many of them cause plant diseases called powdery mildew.
Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds. Most hyphomycetes are now assigned to the Ascomycota, on the basis of genetic connections made by life-cycle studies or by phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences; many remain unassigned phylogenetically.
Exobasidium vaccinii, commonly known as “red leaf disease,” or “Azalea Gall,” is a biotrophic species of fungus that causes galls on ericaceous plant species, such as blueberry and azalea. Exobasidium vaccinii is considered the type species of the Exobasidium genus. As a member of the Ustilagomycota, it is a basidiomycete closely related to smut fungi. Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel first described the species in 1861 under the basionym Fusidium vaccinii, but in 1867 Mikhail Stepanovich Voronin later placed it in the genus Exobasidium. The type specimen is from Germany, and it is held in the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Exobasidium vaccinii, in current definition from John Axel Nannfeldt in 1981, is limited on the host Vaccinium vitis-idaea. This idea is used in most recent papers on E. vaccinii.
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859, and currently found predominantly in tropical forest ecosystems. O. unilateralis infects ants of the tribe Camponotini, with the full pathogenesis being characterized by alteration of the behavioral patterns of the infected ant. Infected hosts leave their canopy nests and foraging trails for the forest floor, an area with a temperature and humidity suitable for fungal growth; they then use their mandibles to attach themselves to a major vein on the underside of a leaf, where the host remains after its eventual death. The process, leading up to mortality, takes 4–10 days, and includes a reproductive stage where fruiting bodies grow from the ant's head, rupturing to release the fungus's spores. O. unilateralis is, in turn, also susceptible to fungal infection itself, an occurrence that can limit its impact on ant populations, which has otherwise been known to devastate ant colonies.
Purpureocillium lilacinum is a species of filamentous fungus in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It has been isolated from a wide range of habitats, including cultivated and uncultivated soils, forests, grassland, deserts, estuarine sediments and sewage sludge, and insects. It has also been found in nematode eggs, and occasionally from females of root-knot and cyst nematodes. In addition, it has frequently been detected in the rhizosphere of many crops. The species can grow at a wide range of temperatures – from 8 to 38 °C for a few isolates, with optimal growth in the range 26 to 30 °C. It also has a wide pH tolerance and can grow on a variety of substrates. P. lilacinum has shown promising results for use as a biocontrol agent to control the growth of destructive root-knot nematodes.
Corallomycetella is a genus of ascomycete fungi in the family Nectriaceae. Species of Corallomycetella are tropical, and are characterized by the formation of brightly colored rhizomorphs of their rhizostilbella-like asexual morphs. These fungi causes a number of plant diseases including 'violet root rot' of Theobroma cacao, root rot of Carica papaya, and 'stinking root disease' of several tropical woody plants. Two species of Corallomycetella are recognized: Corallomycetella elegans C. Herrera & P. Chaverri and Corallomycetella repens Rossman & Samuels. Corallomycetella jatrophae is now classified under Corallonectria.
Cecil Terence Ingold CMG was "one of the most influential mycologists of the twentieth century". He was president of the British Mycological Society where he organised the first international congress of mycologists. An entire class of aquatic fungi within the Pleosporales, the Ingoldian fungi, were named after him, although recent DNA studies are changing the scientific names.
Clark Thomas Rogerson,, was an American mycologist. He was known for his work in the Hypocreales (Ascomycota), particularly Hypomyces, a genus of fungi that parasitize other fungi. After receiving his doctorate from Cornell University in 1950, he went on to join the faculty of Kansas State University. In 1958, he became a curator at The New York Botanical Garden, and served as editor for various academic journals published by the Garden. Rogerson was involved with the Mycological Society of America, serving in various positions, including president in 1969. He was managing editor (1958–89) and editor-in-chief (1960–65) of the scientific journal Mycologia.
Synchytrium is a large genus of plant pathogens within the phylum Chytridiomycota. Species are commonly known as false rust or wart disease. Approximately 200 species are described, and all are obligate parasites of angiosperms, ferns, or mosses. Early species were mistakenly classified among the higher fungi because of their superficial similarity to the rust fungi. Anton de Bary and Mikhail S. Woronin recognized the true nature of these fungi and established the genus to accommodate Synchytrium taraxaci, which grows on dandelions, and S. succisae, which grows on Succisa pratensis. Synchytrium taraxaci is the type of the genus. The genus has been divided into 6 subgenera based on differences in life cycles.
Rhizopus stolonifer is commonly known as black bread mold. It is a member of Zygomycota and considered the most important species in the genus Rhizopus. It is one of the most common fungi in the world and has a global distribution although it is most commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a common agent of decomposition of stored foods. Like other members of the genus Rhizopus, R. stolonifer grows rapidly, mostly in indoor environments.
Harzia acremonioides is a species of seed-borne fungus that occurs in the soil. It has been categorized in the Ceratostomataceae family and under the genus Harzia. The genus Harzia contained up to three accepted species: H. acremonioides, H. verrucose, and H. velatea in 1974. Within the genus Harzia, H. acremonioides is one of the most common species that can be found in all climate regions around the world.
Naematelia aurantia is a species of fungus producing yellow, frondose, gelatinous basidiocarps. It is widespread in north temperate regions and is parasitic on another species of fungus that grows on dead attached and recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees. It is commonly called golden ear in North America.
Cordyceps locustiphila is the basionym and teleomorph of the fungi Beauveria locustiphila, a species of fungus in the family Cordycipitaceae. and is a species within the genus Cordyceps. It was originally described in by Henn in 1904. C. locustiphila is an entomopathogen and obligate parasite of the grasshopper species within the genus Colpolopha or Tropidacris, and as such is endemic to South America. The scientific name is derived from its close relationship with its host, being named after locusts. The fungi was renamed to Beauveria locustiphila in 2017 following research into the family Cordycipitaceae. Following the loss of the species type specimen, new studies were conducted that now recommend that the fungi be divided into 3 species. C. locustiphila, C. diapheromeriphila, and C. acridophila.
Gibellula is a genus of parasitic fungi which attacks arachnids.
Meristacrum is a fungal genus in the monotypic family Meristacraceae, of the order Entomophthorales. They are parasites of soil invertebrates, they typically infect nematodes, and tardigrades.
