The Entomophthorales are an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

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 ...

that were previously classified in the class

Zygomycetes Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a former division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi. The members are now part of two phyla: the Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living ...

. A new subdivision, Entomophthoromycotina, in 2007, was circumscribed for them. Most species of the entomophthorales are pathogens of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s. A few attack

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

s, and

tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them . In 1776, th ...

s, and some (particularly species of the genus '' Conidiobolus'') are free-living

saprotroph Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

s. The name "entomophthorales" is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

for insect destroyer ('' entomo-'' = referring to insects, and '' phthor'' = "destruction"). Named after genus '' Entomophthora'' in 1856.

Highlighted species

* ''

Basidiobolus ranarum ''Basidiobolus'' is a fungus genus. It was circumscribed by the mycologist in 1886, with '' Basidiobolus ranarum'' assigned as the type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''spe ...

'', a commensal fungus of frogs and a mammal pathogen * '' Conidiobolus coronatus'', a saprotrophic fungus of

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

and a mammal pathogen * '' Entomophaga maimaiga'', a biocontrol agent of spongy moths * '' Entomophthora muscae'', a pathogen of houseflies * '' Massospora'' spp., pathogens of periodical cicadas * ''

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name—inscribed against her figure on a white-ground '' ky ...

'', including '' Pandora neoaphidis'', an obligate pathogen of aphids

Biology

Most species of the entomophthorales produce ballistic asexual spores that are forcibly discharged. When not landing on a suitable host, these spores can germinate to make one of several alternate spore forms, including a smaller version of the original spore, or (in some species) an adhesive spore elevated on a very slender

conidiophore A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an Asexual reproduction, asexual, non-motility, motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word f ...

called a capilliconidiophore.

Classification

Debates have centred on whether the Basidiobolaceae should be included in the entomophthorales, or raised to ordinal status.

Molecular systematics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

approaches so far give an ambiguous answer. Some analyses suggest the Basidiobolaceae are more closely related to certain chytrid fungi than to the entomophthorales. and place it within the Chytridiales order. Others find weak support to maintain them in the Entomophthorales. Morphological characters can be found to support either hypothesis. * Family Ancylistaceae Schröter 1893 ** '' Ancyclistes'' Pfitzer 1872 ** '' Capillidium'' ** '' Conidiobolus'' Brefeld 1884 emend. Humber 1989 'Conidiobolus'' (''Conidiobolus'') (Brefeld) Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982; ''Conidiobolus'' (''Delacroixia'') (Sacc. & Syd.) Tyrrell & MacLeod 1972** '' Macrobiotophthora'' Reukauf 1912 emend. Tucker 1981 * Family Completoriaceae Humber 1989 ** '' Completoria'' Lohde 1874 * Family Entomophthoraceae Nowakowski 1877 mpusaceae Clem. & Shear 1931** Subfamily Erynioideae Keller 2005 assosporoideae Keller 2005*** '' Erynia'' (Nowakowski ex Batko 1966) Remaud. & Hennebert 1980.emend. Humber 1989 'Zoophthora'' (''Erynia'') Nowakowski ex Batko 1966*** '' Eryniopsis'' Humber 1984 (in part) *** '' Furia'' (Batko 1966) Humber 2005 'Zoophthora'' (''Furia'') Batko 1966; ''Erynia'' (''Furia'') (Batko 1966) Li & Humber 1984*** '' Orthomyces'' Steinkraus, Humber & Oliver 1988 *** ''

'' Humber 2005 'Erynia'' (''Neopandora'') Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982*** '' Strongwellsea'' Batko & Weiser 1965 emend. Humber 1976 *** '' Tarichium'' *** '' Zoophthora'' Batko 1964 emend. Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 2005 ** Subfamily Entomophthoroideae Keller 2005 *** '' Batkoa'' Humber 2005 *** '' Entomophaga'' Batko 1964 emend. Humber 1989 *** '' Entomophthora'' Fresenius 1856 'Empusa'' (''Triplosporium'') Thaxter 1888*** '' Eryniopsis'' Humber 1984 (in part) *** '' Massospora'' Peck 1879 emend. Soper 1974 * Family Meristacraceae Humber 1989 ** '' Meristacrum'' Drechsler 1940 emend. Tucker & Humber 1981 * Family Neozygitaceae ::* '' Apterivorax'' ::* '' Neozygites''

References

External links

* G. Benny
Entomophthorales
section of Zygomycetes.org * {{Authority control Fungus orders