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 the Ascomycota are asexual, meaning that they do not have a sexual cycle and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewer's yeast and baker's yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.
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.
In botany and mycology, a haustorium is a rootlike structure that grows into or around another structure to absorb water or nutrients. For example, in mistletoe or members of the broomrape family, the structure penetrates the host's tissue and draws nutrients from it. In mycology, it refers to the appendage or portion of a parasitic fungus, which performs a similar function. Microscopic haustoria penetrate the host plant's cell wall and siphon nutrients from the space between the cell wall and plasma membrane but do not penetrate the membrane itself. Larger haustoria do this at the tissue level.
An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can act as a parasite of insects and kills or seriously disables them.
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.
This is a glossary of some of the terms used in phytopathology.
Entomophthora is a fungal genus in the family Entomophthoraceae. Species in this genus are parasitic on flies and other two-winged insects. The genus was circumscribed by German biologist Ferdinand Cohn in 1856.
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.
The Zoopagales is an order of fungi in the subdivision Zoopagomycotina. Most species are parasites or predators of microscopic animals such as amoebae. They also prey on rotifers. The order contains 5 families, 22 genera, and 190 species.
The Mortierellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Mortierellales. The family contains six genera and 93 species.
Amoebidiidae is a family of single-celled eukaryotes, previously thought to be zygomycete fungi belonging to the class Trichomycetes, but molecular phylogenetic analyses place the family with the opisthokont group Mesomycetozoea. The family was originally called Amoebidiaceae, and considered the sole family of the fungal order Amoebidiales that included two genera: Amoebidium and Paramoebidium. However, Amoebidiidae is now monogeneric as it was recently emended to include only Amoebidium. Species of Amoebidium are considered obligate symbionts of freshwater-dwelling arthropod hosts such as midge larvae and water fleas (Daphnia). However, because Amoebidium species attach to the exoskeleton (exterior) of the host and grow in axenic culture, at least some species may be facultative symbionts.
Rhopalomyces elegans is a common species of zygomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus Rhopalomyces. Widely distributed, it is found in soil, rotting plant material, and animal dung. It is a facultative parasite of nematode eggs.
Zoophagus is a genus of zygomycete fungi that preys on rotifers and nematodes. It was established in 1911 by Sommerstorff, who originally considered it to be an oomycete. It is common in a variety of freshwater habitats, such as ponds and sewage treatment plants.
Charles Drechsler was an American mycologist with 45 years of research with the United States Department of Agriculture. He spent considerable time working with cereal fungal diseases, and the genus Drechslera was named after him. Drechsler also worked extensively on oomycete fungi and their interactions with vegetable plants. Drechsler was recognized as a leading authority on helminthosporia, oomycetes, and other parasitic fungi.
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.
Amoebidium is a genus of unicellular, symbiotic eukaryotes in the Opisthokont group Mesomycetozoea, family Amoebidiidae. Amoebidium species attach to the exoskeleton of freshwater aquatic arthropods such as midge larvae and water fleas (Daphnia). The type species is Amoebidium parasiticum, which is also one of the only species to be cultured axenically.
A mycoparasite is an organism with the ability to parasitize fungi.
Amoebophilus is a genus of zygomycete fungi that parasitizes amoeba.
Trisporic acids (TSAs) are C-18 terpenoid compounds synthesized via β-carotene and retinol pathways in the zygomycetes. They are pheromone compound responsible for sexual differentiation in those fungal species. TSAs and related compounds make up the trisporoid group of chemicals.
Stylopage is a polytypic genus of predacious fungus in the order Zoopagales, within the subphylum Zoopagomycotina. All known species of Stylopage subsist on various species of amoebae or nematodes by trapping their prey, typically using an adhesive substance that coats their vegetative hyphae, and absorbing nutrients through the projection of a haustorium. 17 extant Stylopage species have been described thus far.
