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.
Pezizomycotina is the largest subdivision of Ascomycota, containing the filamentous ascomycetes and most lichenized fungi. It is more or less synonymous with the older taxon Euascomycota. These fungi reproduce by fission rather than budding. This subdivision includes almost all ascus fungi that have fruiting bodies visible to the naked eye, except for the genus Neolecta, which belongs to Taphrinomycotina.
The Saccharomycetaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales that reproduce by budding. Species in the family have a cosmopolitan distribution, and are present in a wide variety of habitats, especially those with a plentiful supply of carbohydrate sources. The family contains the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, perhaps the most economically important fungus.
Saccharomycetales belongs to the kingdom of Fungi and the division Ascomycota. It is the only order in the class Saccharomycetes. There are currently 13 families recognized as belonging to Saccharomycetales. GBIF also includes; Alloascoideaceae, Eremotheciaceae (16) Trigonopsidaceae and Wickerhamomycetaceae.
Saccharomycotina is a subdivision (subphylum) of the division (phylum) Ascomycota in the kingdom Fungi. It comprises most of the ascomycete yeasts. The members of Saccharomycotina reproduce by budding and they do not produce ascocarps.
Neolecta is a genus of ascomycetous fungi. The species share the English designation "Earth tongues" along with some better-known fungi with a similar general form, but in fact they are only distantly related.
The Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white truffles, and the desert truffles. The Pezizales can be saprobic, mycorrhizal, or parasitic on plants. Species grow on soil, wood, leaves and dung. Soil-inhabiting species often fruit in habitats with a high pH and low content of organic matter, including disturbed ground. Most species occur in temperate regions or at high elevation. Several members of the Sarcoscyphaceae and Sarcosomataceae are common in tropical regions.
Lecanoromycetes is the largest class of lichenized fungi. It belongs to the subphylum Pezizomycotina in the phylum Ascomycota. The asci of the Lecanoromycetes most often release spores by rostrate dehiscence.
Pucciniomycotina is a subdivision of fungus within the division Basidiomycota. The subdivision contains 10 classes, 21 orders, and 38 families. Over 8400 species of Pucciniomycotina have been described - more than 8% of all described fungi. The subdivision is considered a sister group to Ustilaginomycotina and Agaricomycotina, which may share the basal lineage of Basidiomycota, although this is uncertain due to low support for placement between the three groups. The group was known as Urediniomycetes until 2006, when it was elevated from a class to a subdivision and named after the largest order in the group, Pucciniales.
The Arthoniales is the second largest order of mainly crustose lichens, but fruticose lichens are present as well. The order contains around 1500 species, while the largest order with lichenized fungi, the Lecanorales, contains more than 14000 species.
Peltigerales is an order of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The taxonomy of the group has seen numerous changes; it was formerly often treated as a suborder of the order Lecanorales. It contains two suborders, eight families and about 45 genera such as Lobaria and Peltigera.
The Ascoideaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. It contains the two genera Ascoidea and Alloascoidea. Species in the family have a widespread distribution, and typically grow in beetle galleries in dead wood.
The Cephaloascaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. A monotypic taxon, it contains the single genus Cephaloascus. Species in the family are distributed in Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, where they grow on coniferous wood or other fungi, or are associated with insects.
The Dipodascaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains four genera; however, the placement of Sporopachydermia and Yarrowia is uncertain. GBIF accepted all the species and also added Magnusiomyces and Protendomycopsis to the family. Species in the family have a widespread distribution, and are found in decaying plant tissue, or as spoilage organisms in the food industry.
The Endomycetaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains three genera; however, the placement of the genus Phialoascus is uncertain. Species in this poorly understood family have cosmopolitan distributions, and typically grow in association with other fungi, perhaps parasitically.
The Eremotheciaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains two genera, but the placement of the genus Coccidiascus is uncertain. Species in the family have widespread distributions, and are especially prevalent in tropical areas.
The Pichiaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains four genera, but GBIF lists 15 genera. The family was named by Zender in 1925.
The Saccharomycopsidaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains three genera, although the placement of the genus Ambrosiozyma is uncertain. Species in this poorly known family have a widespread distribution.
Leotiomyceta represents all the filamentous ascomycete fungi (Pezizomycotina), excluding the classes Pezizomycetes and Orbiliomycetes. It is well supported in several studies comparing DNA sequences in fungi. It has originally been proposed as a superclass but later was proposed as a rankless taxon for any well supported group above class. Rankless taxa do not strictly follow the rules for taxonomic classifications in plants and fungi (ICBN) and therefore these names are informal, although they appear to reflect natural groups.
Candida theae is a species of yeast in the genus Candida. The species name means "tea". It was first isolated from Indonesian tea drinks and in Quito from clay pots that contained chicha dating from 680 CE.
