Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a former division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi. The members are now part of two phyla: the Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living in soil or on decaying plant or animal material. Some are parasites of plants, insects, and small animals, while others form symbiotic relationships with plants. Zygomycete hyphae may be coenocytic, forming septa only where gametes are formed or to wall off dead hyphae. Zygomycota is no longer recognised as it was not believed to be truly monophyletic.
Rhizopus is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and tobacco. They are multicellular. Some Rhizopus species are opportunistic human pathogens that often cause fatal disease called mucormycosis. This widespread genus includes at least eight species.
Phycomyces is a genus of fungus in the Zygomycota phylum. They are known for their strong phototropism response and helical growth of the sporangium. The best studied species is Phycomyces blakesleeanus.
The Mucorales is the largest and best studied order of zygomycete fungi. Members of this order are sometimes called pin molds. The term mucormycosis is now preferred for infections caused by molds belonging to the order Mucorales.
Mucor is a microbial genus of approximately 40 species of molds in the family Mucoraceae. Species are commonly found in soil, digestive systems, plant surfaces, some cheeses like Tomme de Savoie, rotten vegetable matter and iron oxide residue in the biosorption process.
Mortierella species are soil fungi belonging to the order Mortierellales within the subphylum Mortierellomycotina. The widespread genus contains about 85 species.
Sporogenesis is the production of spores in biology. The term is also used to refer to the process of reproduction via spores. Reproductive spores were found to be formed in eukaryotic organisms, such as plants, algae and fungi, during their normal reproductive life cycle. Dormant spores are formed, for example by certain fungi and algae, primarily in response to unfavorable growing conditions. Most eukaryotic spores are haploid and form through cell division, though some types are diploid or dikaryons and form through cell fusion.
Mucor mucedo, commonly known as the common pinmould, is a fungal plant pathogen and member of the phylum Mucoromycota and the genus Mucor. Commonly found on soil, dung, water, plants and moist foods, Mucor mucedo is a saprotrophic fungus found world-wide with 85 known strains. It is often mistaken for Rhizopus rots on fruits due to similar mould growth shape and colour. Contrastingly, however, Mucor mucedo is found to grow on a wide range of stored grains and plants, including cucumber and tomato. Discovered in Italy in 1729 by P.A. Micheli and later noted by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in the Species Plantarum, Mucor mucedo was originally classified as Mucor vulgaris by Micheli but later classified synonymous under name Mucor mucedo. The species was redescribed as Ascophora mucedo by H.J. Tode in 1790 but this type resided in a stoloniferous habitat and was later made the type of new genus Rhizopus.
The Cunninghamellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Mucorales.
The Pilobolaceae are a family of fungi in the Mucorales order. Generally, species in this family have a widespread distribution, although there are some that are restricted to tropical and subtropical regions. This family includes two genera: Pilobolus, and Utharomyces.
Mucoromycotina is a subphylum of uncertain placement in Fungi. It was considered part of the phylum Zygomycota, but recent phylogenetic studies have shown that it was polyphyletic and thus split into several groups, it is now thought to be a paraphyletic grouping. Mucoromycotina is currently composed of 3 orders, 61 genera, and 325 species. Some common characteristics seen throughout the species include: development of coenocytic mycelium, saprotrophic lifestyles, and filamentous.
The Mortierellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Mortierellales. The family contains six genera and 93 species.
Rhizomucor pusillus is a species of Rhizomucor. It can cause disease in humans. R. pusillus is a grey mycelium fungi most commonly found in compost piles. Yellow-brown spores grow on a stalk to reproduce more fungal cells.
Spinellus fusiger, commonly known as the bonnet mold, is a species of fungus in the Zygomycota phylum. It is a pin mold that is characterized by erect sporangiophores that are simple in structure, brown or yellowish-brown in color, and with branched aerial filaments that bear the zygospores. It grows as a parasitic mold on mushrooms, including several species from the genera Mycena, including M. haematopus, M. pura, M. epipterygia, M. leptocephala, and various Collybia species, such as C. alkalivirens, C. luteifolia, C. dryophila, and C. butyracea. It has also been found growing on agaric species in Amanita, Gymnopus, and Hygrophorus.
Cunninghamella bertholletiae is a species of zygomycetous fungi in the order Mucorales. It is found globally, with increased prevalence in Mediterranean and subtropical climates. It typically grows as a saprotroph and is found in a wide variety of substrates, including soil, fruits, vegetables, nuts, crops, and human and animal waste. Although infections are still rare, C. betholletiae is emerging as an opportunistic human pathogen, predominantly in immunocompromised people, leukemia patients, and people with uncontrolled diabetes. Cunninghamella bertholletiae infections are often highly invasive, and can be more difficult to treat with antifungal drugs than infections with other species of the Mucorales, making prompt and accurate recognition and diagnosis of mycoses caused by this fungus an important medical concern.
Dicranophora fulva is a mold of the family Mucoraceae. The species was described as new to science in 1886 by German mycologist Joseph Schröter, who first discovered it near Baden in 1877. Its species name is derived from the Latin fulvus "brown". The yellow mold has been reported from Europe and the United States. Although it is wide-ranging, it is not common. It grows exclusively on the decaying fruit bodies of Boletales. Known hosts include Suillus bovinus, S. cavipes, S. grevillei, Paxillus involutus, Chroogomphus rutilus, and Leccinum scabrum. It was not recorded after 1935 until Hermann Voglmayr and Irmgard Krisai-Greilhuber encountered it on a fungal field trip in southeastern Styria in 1994. Initially unable to identify it, they solved the mystery after checking older literature.
Rhizopus stolonifer is commonly known as white 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.
Mucor circinelloides is a dimorphic fungus belonging to the Order Mucorales. It has a worldwide distribution, found mostly in soil, dung and root vegetables. This species is described as not known to be able to produce mycotoxins, however it has been frequently reported to infect animals such as cattle and swine, as well as fowl, platypus and occasionally humans. Ketoacidotic patients are particularly at risk for infection by M. circinelloides.
Mortierella polycephala is a saprotrophic fungus with a wide geographical distribution occurring in many different habitats from soil and plants to salt marshes and slate slopes. It is the type species of the genus Mortierella, and was first described in 1863 by Henri Coemans. A characteristic feature of the fungus is the presence of stylospores, which are aerial, spiny resting spores (chlamydospores).
Mucoromycota is a division within the kingdom fungi. They include a diverse group of various molds, including the common bread molds Mucor and Rhizopus. It is a sister phylum to Dikarya. It consists of mainly mycorrhizal fungi, root endophytes, and plant decomposers; Glomeromycotina, Mortierellomycotina, and Mucoromycotina.
