The Zoopagomycotina are a subdivision (''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'') of the

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

division Zygomycota '' sensu lato''. It contains 5 families and 20 genera.ygomycetes.orgurl=http://zygomycetes.org/index.php?id=8 Relationships among and within subphyla of Zygomycota are poorly understood, and their

monophyly In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent comm ...

remains in question, so they are sometimes referred to by the informal name zygomycetes. Zoopagomycotina are microscopic and are typically

obligate {{wiktionary, obligate As an adjective, obligate means "by necessity" (antonym '' facultative'') and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as: * Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen * Obligate anaerobe, an organism ...

parasites of other zygomycete fungi and of microscopic soil animals such as

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 ...

rotifer The rotifers (, from Latin 'wheel' and 'bearing'), sometimes called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic Coelom#Pseudocoelomates, pseudocoelomate animals. They were first describ ...

s and amoebae.olweb.org/Zygomycota> url=http://www.tolweb.org/Zygomycota Some species are endoparasites that live mostly within the bodies of their hosts and only exit the host when they are producing spores. Other species are ectoparasites (e.g. '' Syncephalis'', '' Piptocephalis'')ygomycetes.org/> that live outside of the host body but produce specialized organs called haustoria that penetrate inside of the host body to capture host nutrients. Similar haustoria are found in biotrophic plant, animal and fungal pathogens in several other major fungal lineages. Like most other zygomycete fungi, the Zoopagomycotina have cell walls containing

chitin Chitin (carbon, C8hydrogen, H13oxygen, O5nitrogen, N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cell ...

and have coenocytic (nonseptate)

hyphae 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 ...

. Their vegetative body consists of a simple, branched or unbranched thallus. Asexual reproduction is by arthrospores (in '' Helicocephalum''), chlamydospores, uni- or multi-spored sporganiola; sporangiospores of multi-spored formed in simple or branched chains ( merosporangia), usually from a vesicle or stalk. Many produce haustoria. Where observed, the sexual spores ( zygospores) are globose and unornamented. The hyphae used during sexual outcrossing is similar to vegetative hyphae or in some cases may be slightly enlarged.

Etymology

The word Zoopagomycotina comes from the Greek roots ''zoo'' meaning "animal" and ''pag'' meaning "rock" or "ice/frost".ww.oed.comurl=http://www.oed.com

Evolutionary relationships

Although great strides have been made in resolving the evolutionary relationships among many lineages of fungi, it has been challenging to resolve relationships within and among zygomycetes. For example, the uncertain grouping of '' Zoophagus insidians'' with the Kickxellomycotina. Resolving a well-supported monophyly of the Zoopagomycotina has been particularly challenging for several main reasons: * most species of Zoopagomycotina are microscopic and challenging to observe * most species of Zoopagomycotina cannot be grown separately from their host organisms in axenic culture, so obtaining pure DNA for molecular studies is challenging * based on

ribosomal DNA The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) consists of a group of ribosomal RNA encoding genes and related regulatory elements, and is widespread in similar configuration in all domains of life. The ribosomal DNA encodes the non-coding ribosomal RNA, integral struc ...

sequences, species of Zoopagomycotina may have undergone accelerated evolution, so grouping may be skewed by long-branch attraction (LBA) and a high frequency of parallel evolutionary changes

Families and their respective genera

* Class Zoopagomycetes Doweld 2014 ** Order Zoopagales Bessey 1950 ex. Benjamin 1979 oophagales Doweld 2014 *** '' Massartia'' De Wildeman 1897 non Conrad 1926 *** Family Basidiolaceae Doweld 2013 **** '' Basidiolum'' Cienk. 1861 *** Family Cochlonemataceae Duddington 1974 **** '' Amoebophilus'' (6 spp.) ectoparasite of amoebae **** '' Aenigmatomyces'' Castan˜eda & Kendrick 1993 **** '' Aplectosoma'' (1 sp.) parasite of an amoeba **** '' Bdellospora'' (1 sp.) ectoparasite of an amoeba **** '' Cochlonema'' (19 spp.) endoparasites of amoebae and rhizopods **** '' Endocochlus'' (4 spp.) endoparasites of amoebae **** '' Euryancale'' (5 spp. ) endoparasites of nematodes *** Family Helicocephalidaceae Boedijn 1959 **** '' Brachymyces'' (1 sp.) parasitic on bdelloid

rotifers The rotifers (, from Latin 'wheel' and 'bearing'), sometimes called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris ...

**** '' Helicocephalum'' (5 spp.) parasites of small animals, especially nematodes and nematode eggs **** '' Rhopalomyces'' (8 spp.) parasites of small animals, especially nematodes and nematode eggs **** '' Verrucocephalum'' Degawa 2013 *** Family Piptocephalidaceae Schröter 1886 **** '' Kuzuhaea'' (1 sp.) haustorial parasite of fungi (mostly of Mucorales spp.) **** '' Piptocephalis'' (25 spp.) haustorial parasite of fungi (mostly of Mucorales spp.) **** '' Syncephalis'' (61 spp.) haustorial parasite of fungi (mostly of Mortierellales and Mucorales spp.) *** Family Sigmoideomycetaceae Benny, Benjamin & Kirk 1992 **** '' Reticulocephalis'' (2 spp.) putative haustorial parasite of fungi **** '' Sigmoideomyces'' (2 spp.) putative haustorial parasite of fungi **** '' Sphondylocephalum'' Stalpers 1974 **** '' Thamnocephalis'' (3 spp.) haustorial parasite of fungi *** Family Zoopagaceae Drechsler 1938 **** '' Acaulopage'' (27 spp.) haustorial parasites of amoeba **** '' Cystopage'' (7 spp.) haustorial parasites of amoebae and nematodes **** '' Lecophagus'' Dick 1990 **** '' Stylopage'' (18 spp.) predaceous on amoebae and nematodes **** '' Tentaculophagus'' Doweld 2014 **** '' Zoopage'' (11 spp.) haustorial parasite of amoebae and testaceous rhizopods **** '' Zoophagus'' (5 spp.) ectoparasites of loricate rotifers and nematodesygomycetes.org/>

References

External links

Zygomycota
at the Tree of Life Web Project
Zygomycetes.org
* * https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/451827 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720003551/http://agclass.canr.msu.edu/mtwdk.exe?w=125844&k=default&s=5&t=2&n=1&l=60 {{Taxonbar, from=Q3131892 Zygomycota Opisthokont subphyla Monotypic fungus taxa