Phylum Zygomycota its brief characters and taxonomic status of Rhizopus stolonifera

 

Phylum Zygomycota

Phylum Zygomycota has two classes;

  1. Zygomycetes
  2. Trichomycetes

 

 

Characteristics of Class Zygomycetes:

  1. Production of a thick walled resting spore called a zygospore (Gr. Zygos = yoke + spora = seed, spore). These zygospores are produced by the fusion of two iso-gametangia. These Zygospores are produced within Zygosporangium.
  2. Mycelium is extensive and hyphae are coenocytic.
  3. Asexual reproduction is by sporangiospores although some species produce other types of spores.
  4. On the sporangiophore a large no. of small structures are found these are known as sporangiola.
  5. Some species are dimorphic (having the capacity to grow as a single cell like yeast or to produce mycelia).
  6. Flagellate (motile) cells and centrioles are absent.
  7. The tissue that gives rise to spores is called prymordia.

 

Habitat:

     They are found in a variety of habitats such as soil, dung, fruits, flowers, stored grains, fleshy plant organs, mushrooms, invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans.

 

Nutrition: They are facultative as well as obligate parasites of plants, true fungi and animals and predators of animals. A few species form mycorrhizal association with plant roots.

 

Classification: [Benjamin].

            Class Zygomycetes has following orders;

  1. Mucorales [important]
  2. Entomophthorales
  3. Zoopagales
  4. Dimargaritales
  5. Kickxellates
  6. Endogonales
  7. Glomales

 

.

  • Mucoraceous fungi have well developed mycelium which is coenocytic.
  • They are saprobes that occur on dung, soil, and other organic debris.
  • It causes soft rot of potato and strawberry during storage and shipping e.g. Rhizopus and Mucor.

 

 

 

TAXONOMIC STATUS

bread mold fungus

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

Disease caused

Eumycophyta

    

Zygomycota

 

Zygomycetes

 

Mucorales

 

Mucoraceae

 

Rhizopus

 

 Rhizopus stolonifer

 

Rots
     

.

 

 

Difference between   Rhizopus and Mucor

Rhizopus

Mucor
  1. Rhizoids are present.
  2. Stolons are present.
  3. Many sporangiophores arise from one point.
  1. Rhizoids are absent.
  2. Stolons are absent.
  3. One sporangiophore arises from one point.

 

 

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