There are around 75,000 known species of fungi, but scientists believe there could be up to one million unidentified species. Accurately classifying them is difficult and requires DNA sequencing. Fungi are eukaryotes and are classified into seven phyla, including chytrids, zygomycota, and club fungi. Some fungi are plant pathogens, while others have a symbiotic relationship with plants.
There are about 75,000 scientifically identified species of fungi, and scientists believe there could be as many as one million unidentified fungal species. Because different species may look superficially the same, accurately classifying them is difficult and usually requires the application of molecular tools such as DNA sequencing. Because DNA sequencing is still relatively expensive, even for fungi with genomes much shorter than mammals, it will likely take many decades before most are reliably classified.
Common types include molds – which grow in filaments called hyphae, fungi – fruiting bodies of fungal colonies, and yeasts – the name of any unicellular fungus. However, these are general terms and moulds, yeasts and fungi can be found in different taxonomic categories. The classification of fungi at the phyla level is complicated and is constantly being reshuffled. Fungi were initially misclassified as plants, but later investigations found that they actually have more in common with animals. Like plants and animals, they are eukaryotes.
Phylogenetically, there are seven phyla of fungi. The first is the Chytridiomycota, or chytrids, the most primitive form, with about 1,000 species identified. These produce spores with flagella (zoospore) and go after amphibians, corn, alfalfa, potatoes and other vulnerable organisms. These are the most representative of the types that lived during the Paleozoic era, being mainly aquatic.
Blastocladiomycota is the second phlya, only created as a distinct category in 2007. Like chytrids, they use zoospores to reproduce and are parasitic of all major eukaryotic groups. The third phyla, Neocallimastigomycota, are anaerobic fungi that mainly occupy the stomachs of ruminants. Their name contains the Greek suffix referring to whips, -mastix, for their many flails. The second and third phyla were initially erroneously classified as chytrids.
The fourth phyla are the most familiar Zygomycota, so named for the robust spherical spores they produce. If you see a fungus with tiny dots at the tip of the hyphae (filaments), that’s Zygomycota. There are over 600 species in this genus and it includes brown bread mold, one of the most sighted by humans. Another is Pilobolus, which is capable of ejecting spores several meters into the air.
The fifth phyla is the Glomeromycota, known as Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) fungi. Basically, that term means “tree mushrooms.” They are found in large numbers in the roots of over 80% of vascular plant families. This relationship is symbiotic and ancient, dating back at least 460 million years to the beginning of plant life on land.
The sixth phyla is the Ascomycota, known as sac fungi. These form distinct spherical sacs to hold their spores and contain most species of all phyla. Examples include Penicillium, morels, truffles, brewer’s yeast, lichens, powdery mildew and many more. Many of these phyla are plant pathogens.
The seventh phyla are the Basidiomycota, or club fungi. This group contains the most common mushrooms. It is distinguished by the presence of a spore-producing structure called a basidium, more commonly known as a cap. Together with Ascomycota, they are known as higher mushrooms.
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