Classification of Fungi

Yeasts, like all fungi, may have asexual and sexual reproductive cycles. The most common mode of vegetative growth in yeast is asexual reproduction by budding. Here, a small bud (also known as a bleb), or daughter cell, is formed on the parent cell.

Deuteromycota, or imperfect fungi, is an artificial group comprising fungi for which no sexual reproductive cycle has been observed. Penicillium, from which penicillin is obtained, is a deuteromycete.

The Pucciniomycetes (formerly known as the Urediniomycetes) are a class of fungi in the Pucciniomycotina subdivision of the Basidiomycota. The class contains 5 orders, 21 families, 190 genera and 8016 species. It includes several important plant pathogens causing forms of fungal rust.

Pichia pastoris is a species of methylotrophic yeast. Pichia is widely used for protein expression using recombinant DNA techniques. Hence, it is used in biochemical and genetic research in academia and the biotechnical industry.

A leprose lichen is a lichen with a powdery or granular surface. Leprose lichens lacks an outer skin or cortex.

Tremella fuciformis is a species of fungus. It produces white, frond-like, gelatinous basidiocarps (fruiting bodies). It is widespread, especially in the tropics, where it can be found on the dead branches of broadleaf trees. This fungus is commercially cultivated and is one of the most popular fungi in the cuisines and medicines of China.

Mushrooms are a low-calorie food eaten cooked, raw or as a garnish to a meal. In a 100 g (3.5 ounce) serving, mushrooms are an excellent source (higher than 20% of the Daily Value, DV) of B vitamins, such as riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, an excellent source of the essential minerals.

The algal partner protects the fungal partner by retaining water, serving as a larger capture area for mineral nutrients and in some cases, provides minerals obtained from the substrate.

Cryptococcus neoformans is the most prominent medically important species. It is best known for causing a severe form of meningitis and meningo-encephalitis in people with HIV/AIDS. It may also infect organ transplant recipients and people receiving certain cancer treatments.

This fungi is usually isolated as a saprophytic contaminant. Worldwide, known as an insect parasite. Sympodial development of single-celled conidia on a narrow geniculate or zig-zag rachis emanating from a flask-shaped conidiophore.

Calocera cornea is a jelly fungus that grows on decaying wood. It is a member of the Dacrymycetales, an order of fungi characterised by their unique "tuning fork" basidia.

The Saccharomycotina comprises most of the "true" yeasts, such as baker's yeast and Candida, which are single-celled (unicellular) fungi, which reproduce vegetatively by budding. Most of these species were previously classified in a taxon called Hemiascomycetes.

Araneosa is a fungal genus in the family Agaricaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single gasteroid species Araneosa columellata.

Phytophthora spp. are mostly pathogens of dicotyledons, and are relatively host-specific parasites. Many species of Phytophthora are plant pathogens of considerable economic importance. Phytophthora infestans was the infective agent of the potato blight that caused the Great Irish Famine.

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) is a direct menace to humans when it attacks wheat or rye and produces highly poisonous and carcinogenic alkaloids, causing ergotism if consumed. Symptoms include hallucinations, stomach cramp, and a burning sensation in the limbs (Saint Anthony's Fire).

The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. They range from the ubiquitous common mushroom to the deadly destroying angel and the hallucinogenic fly agaric to the bioluminescent jack-o-lantern mushroom.

Members of the Ascomycota such as Stachybotrys chartarum are responsible for fading of woollen textiles, which is a common problem especially in the tropics.

The medical importance of Tolypocladium niveum as an immunosuppressor can hardly be exaggerated. It excretes Ciclosporin, which, as well as being given during Organ transplantation to prevent rejection, is also prescribed for auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Mycotoxins can appear in the food chain as a result of fungal infection of crops, either by being eaten directly by humans or by being used as livestock feed. Mycotoxins greatly resist decomposition or being broken down in digestion, so they remain in the food chain in meat and dairy products.

Loma salmonae is a species of microsporidian parasite, infecting Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp. L. salmonae is the causative agent of microsporidial gill disease of salmon. It is an intracellular parasite which induces respiratory distress, secondary infection and increased mortality rates.

Geoglossaceae is a family of fungi in the order Geoglossales, class Geoglossomycetes. These fungi are broadly known as earth tongues. The ascocarps of most species in the family Geoglossaceae are terrestrial and are generally small, dark in colour, and club-shaped with a height of 2–8 cm.

The true fungi or the eumycetes are special types of achlorophyllous thallophytic organisms living as parasitic or a saprophytic mode of existence. They are always heterophytes and never autophytes. They depend on others for food, but all other groups as algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes are chlorophyll containing green plants that are autotrophic.

Fly agaric is a mushroom and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus.The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture.

Ergot Alkaloids are compounds produced as a toxic mixture of alkaloids in the sclerotia of species of Claviceps, which are common pathogens of various grass species. The ingestion of ergot sclerotia from infected cereals, commonly in the form of bread produced from contaminated flour, cause ergotism the human disease historically known as St. Anthony's Fire.

Oak wilt is a fungal disease that can quickly kill an oak tree. It is caused by the fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum. The fungus is spread from diseased to healthy trees by insect vectors or via connections between tree roots.

Gliotoxin is a sulfur-containing mycotoxin produced by several species of fungi, including pathogens of humans such as Aspergillus fumigatus. It possesses immuno-suppressive properties as it may suppress and cause apoptosis in certain types of cells of the immune system, including neutrophils, eosinophils, granulocytes, macrophages and thymocytes.

Patients with primary immunodeficiencies are susceptible to aspergillus species infections particularly when cell-mediated immunity is compromised.

Coprinus comatus  is a common fungus often seen growing in lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white and covered with scales.

The golden oyster mushroom, like other species of oyster mushroom, is a wood-decay fungus. In the wild, P. citrinopileatus most commonly decays hardwoods such as elm.P. citrinopileatus mushrooms are a source of antioxidants. Extracts from P. citrinopileatus have been studied for their antihyperglycemic properties, decreasing blood sugar levels.