GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY - T.P. Pyrog - 2004

8. FUNGI

8.5. SYSTEMATICS OF FUNGI

Fungi are classified into the following taxons: division, Class (subclass), order (suborder), family, genus, species, and within a species — variety, form (race) or type (if known). Classes typically end in -cetes (Zygomycetes), orders in -ales (Mucorales), and families in -aceae (Mucoraceae). Species names follow binomial nomenclature — Fusarium moniliforme, while varieties use trinomial nomenclature — Fusarium moniliforme var. lactis.

According to the fungal Classification developed in the 1970s and early 1980s, fungi (Fungi) are divided into two divisions:

I. Slime Molds, or myxomycetes (Myxomycota), whose vegetative body is a naked plasmodial mass with numerous nuclei or a dense aggregation of amoebae.

II. True fungi (Eumycota), the vegetative body of most of which consists of interwoven hyphae forming a mycelium. They are divided into seven classes:

1. Chytridiomycetes — mycelium is absent or poorly developed; zoospores and Gametes are uniflagellate and motile. A sexual process is present.

2. Oomycetes — mycelium is well developed, typically non-septate; zoospores possess two flagella. A sexual process is present.

3. Zygomycetes — mycelium is well developed, usually lacking cross-walls. Asexual reproduction occurs via non-motile sporangiospores, rarely via conidia. A sexual process is present.

4. Trichomycetes — mycelium is mostly unbranched, Cell walls contain Cellulose. Asexual reproduction occurs via sporangiospores. A sexual process is present. They inhabit the gut of aquatic or terrestrial Arthropods.

5. Ascomycetes — in the vast majority, the mycelium is well developed and septate. Asexual reproduction occurs via conidia. A sexual process is present.

6. Basidiomycetes — mycelium is well developed and septate. A sexual process is present. Sexual reproduction results in The formation of basidia, which bear basidiospores.

7. Deuteromycetes (Fungi imperfecti) — deuteromycetes (imperfect fungi) — mycelium is well developed, asexual reproduction occurs via conidia. The sexual process is absent.

According to data provided in the textbook by Yu.T. Dyakov [11], fungi belong to three divisions: Myxomycota, Heterocontae, and Eumycota. The class Oomycetes is included in the division Heterocontae, whereas the division Eumycota comprises six classes (Chytridiomycetes, Trichomycetes, Zygomycetes, Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, Deuteromycetes).

Depending on the type of mycelium, fungi are divided into lower fungi — phycomycetes (characterized by a non-septate mycelium, including chytridiomycetes, oomycetes, and zygomycetes) and higher fungi — eumycetes (having a septate mycelium, including ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, and deuteromycetes).

Microscopic filamentous fungi (micromycetes, molds) and Yeasts of biotechnological interest and industrial use belong primarily to the classes Ascomycetes and Deuteromycetes. Furthermore, many representatives of Deuteromycetes simultaneously belong to other fungal classes. For instance, fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are classified as representatives of both Ascomycetes and Deuteromycetes. Deuteromycetes also include fungi of the genera Botrytis, Trichoderma, Fusarium, Stachybotrys, Dendrodochium, Cladosporium, and Alternaria.

The class Zygomycetes (order Mucorales) includes fungi of the genera Mucor and Rhizopus, which are producers of organic acids. Blakeslea trispora, a producer of β-carotene, also belongs to the zygomycetes.