The ''Cunninghamellaceae'' are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the order

Mucorales 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. Systematic ...

Taxonomy

At one time, this family contained four genera.Hesseltine C. W. & J. J. Ellis. 1973. Mucorales. ''in'': The Fungi: An Advanced Treatise. Volume 5B. A Taxonomic Review with Keys: Basidiomycetes and Lower Fungi. Academic Press. New York. pg. 187-217. At present, the number of genera in this family is under debate. According to Benny and Alexopoulos, the family only contains the genus '' Cunninghamella''.Alexopoulos C. J., C. W. Mims, & M. Blackwell. 1996. Introductory Mycology. Fourth Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. However, other (recent) authors have listed other genera, including ''

Absidia ''Absidia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Cunninghamellaceae. ''Absidia'' species are ubiquitous in most environments where they are often associated with warm decaying plant matter, such as compost heaps. Some species in the genus can caus ...

'', '' Halteromyces'', and ''

Hesseltinella ''Hesseltinella'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Cunninghamellaceae. The genus name of ''Hesseltinella'' is in honour of Clifford William Hesseltine (1917–1999), who was an American botanist (Mycology), Microbiologist, from the ...

''.Walther, G., Pawlowska, J., Alastruey-Izquierdo, A., Wrzosek, M., Rodriguez-Tudela, J. L., Dolatabadi, S., ... & de Hoog, G. S. (2013). DNA barcoding in Mucorales: an inventory of biodiversity. Persoonia, 30(1), 11-47. The full list can be viewed at the webpag
Cunninghamellaceae
maintained by Gerald L. Benny.

Morphology

Hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e are coenocytic and produce sporangiophores covered in

calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula or . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydr ...

. Sporangiophores give rise to

pedicellate In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. The stalk at the base of a leaf is called a petiole. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecti ...

, unispored

sporangia A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...

. In many cases, the wall of the sporangium and the spore have fused.Kendrick, Bryce. 2000. The Fifth Kingdom. Third Edition. Focus Publishing & R. Pullins Company. Newburyport, MA.

Zygospore A zygospore is a diploid reproductive stage in the life cycle of many fungi and protists. Zygospores are created by the nuclear fusion of haploid cells. In fungi, zygospores are formed in zygosporangia after the fusion of specialized budding stru ...

s tend to be ornamented and reddish-brown with opposed suspensors.

Ecology

''Cunninghamella'' species are commonly encountered in forest soils, dung, and nuts from the tropics. Species can be isolated using

Czapek medium Czapek medium, also called Czapek's agar (CZA) or Czapek-Dox medium, is a growth medium for propagating fungi and other organisms in a laboratory. It was named after its inventors, Czech botanist Friedrich Johann Franz Czapek (May 16, 1868 – July ...

incubated for 3–4 days at 28-31C.Mycology Guidebook Committee, Mycological Society of America. 1981. Mycology Guidebook. Editor: Russel B. Stevens. University of Washington Press Seattle, Washington. A few species are known

human pathogen A human pathogen is a pathogen (microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus) that causes disease in humans. The human physiological defense against common pathogens (such as ''Pneumocystis'') is mainly the responsibility ...

References

External links

Family page on Zygomycetes.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5194359 Fungus families