Summarizing Classifications of Fungi

Summary

Chytridiomycota (chytrids) are considered the most primitive group of fungi. They are mostly aquatic, and their gametes are the only fungal cells known to have flagella. They reproduce both sexually and asexually; the asexual spores are called zoospores. Zygomycota (conjugated fungi) produce non-septated hyphae with many nuclei. Their hyphae fuse during sexual reproduction to produce a zygospore in a zygosporangium. Ascomycota (sac fungi) form spores in sacs called asci during sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is their most common form of reproduction. Basidiomycota (club fungi) produce showy fruiting bodies that contain basidia in the form of clubs. Spores are stored in the basidia. Most familiar mushrooms belong to this division. Fungi that have no known sexual cycle were classified in the form phylum Deuteromycota, which the present classification puts in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Glomeromycota form tight associations (called mycorrhizae) with the roots of plants.

Glossary

Arbuscular mycorrhizae

mycorrhizae commonly involving Glomeromycetes in which the fungal hyphae penetrate the cell walls of the plant root cells (but not the cell membranes)

ascocarp

fruiting body of ascomycetes

Ascomycota

(also, sac fungi) phylum of fungi that store spores in a sac called ascus

basidiocarp

fruiting body that protrudes from the ground and bears the basidia

Basidiomycota

(also, club fungi) phylum of fungi that produce club-shaped structures (basidia) that contain spores

basidium

club-shaped fruiting body of basidiomycetes

Chytridiomycota

(also, chytrids) primitive phylum of fungi that live in water and produce gametes with flagella

Deuteromycota

former form phylum of fungi that do not have a known sexual reproductive cycle (presently members of two phyla: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota)

Ectomycorrhizae

mycorrhizae in which the fungal hyphae do not penetrate the root cells of the plant

Glomeromycota

phylum of fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees

mold

tangle of visible mycelia with a fuzzy appearance

Zygomycota

(also, conjugated fungi) phylum of fungi that form a zygote contained in a zygospore

zygospore

structure with thick cell wall that contains the zygote in zygomycetes