Examples of Classification of Fungi

Zygomycota: The Conjugated Fungi

The zygomycetes are a relatively small group of fungi belonging to the Phylum Zygomycota.
They include the familiar bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, which rapidly propagates on the
surfaces of breads, fruits, and vegetables. Most species are saprobes, living off decaying
organic material; a few are parasites, particularly of insects. Zygomycetes play a considerable
commercial role. The metabolic products of other species of Rhizopus are intermediates in the
synthesis of semi-synthetic steroid hormones.

Basidiomycota: The Club Fungi

The fungi in the Phylum Basidiomycota are easily recognizable under a light microscope by their
club-shaped fruiting bodies called basidia (singular, basidium), which are the swollen terminal
cell of a hypha. The basidia, which are the reproductive organs of these fungi, are often
contained within the familiar mushroom, commonly seen in fields after rain, on the supermarket
shelves, and growing on your lawn. The fruiting bodies of a basidiomycete form a ring in a
meadow, commonly called “fairy ring” (Figure 6). The best-known fairy ring fungus has the
scientific name Marasmius oreades. The body of this fungus, its mycelium, is underground and
grows outward in a circle. As it grows, the mycelium depletes the soil of nitrogen, causing the
mycelia to grow away from the center and leading to the “fairy ring” of fruiting bodies where
there is adequate soil nitrogen.

Deuteromycota: The Imperfect Fungi

Imperfect fungi—those that do not display a sexual phase—are classified in the form
phylum Deuteromycota. Deuteromycota is a polyphyletic group where many species are more
closely related to organisms in other phyla than to each other; hence it cannot be called a true
phylum and must, instead, be given the name form phylum. Since they do not possess the
sexual structures that are used to classify other fungi, they are less well described in
comparison to other divisions. Most members live on land, with a few aquatic exceptions. They
form visible mycelia with a fuzzy appearance and are commonly known as mold. Molecular
analysis shows that the closest group to the deuteromycetes is the ascomycetes. In fact, some
species, such as some Aspergillus, which were once classified as imperfect fungi, are now
classified as ascomycetes.

Ascomycota: The Sac Fungi

The majority of known fungi belong to the Phylum Ascomycota, which is characterized by the
formation of an ascus (plural, asci), a sac-like structure that contains haploid ascospores. Many
ascomycetes are of commercial importance. Some play a beneficial role, such as the yeasts
used in baking, brewing, and wine fermentation, plus truffles and morels, which are held as
gourmet delicacies. Aspergillus oryzae is used in the fermentation of rice to produce sake. Other
ascomycetes parasitize plants and animals, including humans. For example, fungal pneumonia
poses a significant threat to AIDS patients who have a compromised immune system.
Ascomycetes not only infest and destroy crops directly; they also produce poisonous secondary
metabolites that make crops unfit for consumption. Filamentous ascomycetes produce hyphae
divided by perforated septa, allowing streaming of cytoplasm from one cell to the other. Conidia
and asci, which are used respectively for asexual and sexual reproductions, are usually
separated from the vegetative hyphae by blocked (non-perforated) septa. Ascomycota species
can be found on dry land around the world, in habitats ranging from tropical and temperate
forests to grasslands and beyond. There are even species of ascomycota that live in extreme
environments.
Example of Angiosperm and Gymnosperm in the Plant Kingdom
1. Gymnosperms evolved to have seeds but do not have flowers. Examples of
gymnosperms include the Redwood, Fir, and Cypress trees. Gymnos means "naked" in
Greek; the seeds of gymnosperms are naked, not protected by flowers.
2. Flowering plants, or angiosperms, evolved to have vascular tissue, seeds, and flowers.
Examples of angiosperms include magnolia trees, roses, tulips, and tomatoes.

Examples of Protists
1) Heterotrophs with no permanent locomotor apparatus
* Mostly unicellular and ameoba-like:

 Phylum Rhizopoda (amoebas)

* Move by pseudopods (flowing extensions of cytoplasm)
* Lack sexual reproduction, cell walls, flagella
* Reproduce asexually only
* Many are predators (use pseudopods to engulf other cells).
* Exception: Vampyrella, the "sucking amoeba"
* Sucks contents of algal cell in matter of seconds.
* Hundreds of species: freshwater, marine, soil

* Some are parasites (feed on host tissues or cells but usually don�t kill host).
* Example: Entamoeba histolytica (cause of amoebic dysentery)
* Up to 10 million Americans may be infected by parasitic amoebas.

 Phylum Actinopoda (radiolarians)

* Have shells (external skeletons) made of silica (glass)
* Pseudopods needle-like
* Marine group. Part of plankton (microscopic floating marine organisms)
* Valuable fossils for geological record.

 Phylum Foraminifera (forams).

* Marine, make skeleton (called test) of organic material plus sand, calcium carbonate
* Some float in plankton, most live attached to bottom or other organisms
* Podia (thin cytoplasmic projections) used for swimming, feeding.
* Life cycle: sporic meiosis (haploid and diploid generations formed)
* Important fossil group (200 million years of geological record
* Limestones often rich in forams (ex, Dover, England).

2) Photosynthetic protists

 Phylum Phyrrhophyta (dinoflagellates)

* Unicellular, mostly marine: 2100 species
* Usually 2 flagella, skeleton of plates of cellulose
* Reproduce mostly by asexual reproduction (sex rare)
* Chlorophylls a + c
* Important/interesting roles:
-zooxanthellae: symbionts (live in mutually beneficial relationship) in other organisms (jellyfish,
sea anemones, mollusks, corals)
-Zooxanthellae in corals (up to 30,000 cells per cubic mm or coral tissue) do photosynthesis
and carbon products absorbed by corals, helping to make coral reefs one of most productive
habitats on Earth!.

-toxins in cells can kill marine life

-Example, Pfiesteria piscicida: stuns fish with toxin and feeds on body fluids.

 Phylum Euglenophyta (euglenoids)

* Mostly freshwater, unicellular. 1000 species
* Some photosynthetic (chlorophylls a + b), some not
* Protein coat called pellicle on outside of cell
* Important members of food freshwater food chains
* Example, Euglena.

 Phylum Chrysophyta (diatoms and golden algae)

* Here we emphasize the diatoms: 11,500 species
* Use chlorophyll a + c, lack flagella
* Make chrysolaminarin: unique energy storage chemical
* Cell wall of silica
* (glass), with intricate
* designs. Like petri
* plate, with top and
* bottom halves.

 Phylum Rhodophyta (red algae)

* Mostly marine (many tropical), multicellular. 4000 species.
* Lack flagella
* Have only chlorophyll a: similar to photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria
* Reproduction: mostly sporic meiosis (make gametophyte and sporophyte generations).
* Importance:

-Coral reefs: part of reef made of coralline red algae, which have calcium carbonate forming
part of cell walls.
* Importance:

- Agar and carrageenan (cell wall chemicals) are extracted from some red algae

-Used as emulsifiers and thickeners (chocolate milk, ice cream, cosmetics, jellies, microbiology
medium, etc.)

 Phylum Phaeophyta (brown algae)

* Marine (cold water), multicellular: 1500 species
* Chlorophylls a + c
* Reproduction often sexual: sporic meiosis (sporophyte and gametophyte generations)
* Large species called kelps
* Form "kelp forests": important shallow water habitats.
* Kelps also harvested for cell wall materials called alginates: used as thickeners in foods and
other products.

 Phylum Chlorophyta (green algae)

* Mostly aquatic (some on most terrestrial surfaces), marine and freshwater: 7000 species
* Unicellular to multicellular
* Chlorophylls a + b
* Unicellular motile example: Chlamydomonas
* To be seen in lab: note zygotic meiosis and asexual reproduction in haploid phase.
* Motile (swimming) colonial example: Volvox
* To be seen in lab: note daughter colonies (made asexually inside main sphere).
* Parenchymatous (3-D body) form: Ulva (sea lettuce)
* To be seen in lab: note life cycle is sporic meiosis where gametophyte and sporophyte look
identical (isomorphic alternation of generations)!
* Importance:

- producers in aquatic ecosystems (base of food chains)

- human/animal nutritional supplement? Chlorella in the news....

* Evolutionary Importance
* Land plants (Kingdom Plantae) evolved from a line of green algae.

3) Heterotrophs with flagella

 Phylum Sarcomastigophora (zoomastigotes)

* Mostly unicellular, often with flagella
* Here we emphasize Class Zoomastigophora, especially a group called the
trypanosomes
* Most reproduction is asexual.
* Some trypanosomes are parasites that cause serious human diseases:
� African sleeping sickness: Caused by Trypanosoma
� Carried to new host by biting fly (tsetse fly)
� Affects cattle and prevents livestock culture in large area of Africa.
* Some trypanosomes are parasites that cause serious human diseases:
 � Leishmaniasis (caused by Leishmania)
� Carried to new host by biting fly (sand fly) in tropical areas
� Causes sores and erosion of skin (4 million people/yr).

 Phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)

* Do sexual reproduction by conjugation (exchange of micronuclei).
* Examples, Paramecium and Stentor
* Cilia used for locomotion and for feeding.

4) Nonmotile spore-formers

 Phylum Apicomplexa (sporozoans)

* Unicellular, do not make cilia/flagella: 3900 species
* All are parasites of animals
* Spores are infective bodies used to reach new hosts
* Cell structure unique: on end (apex) of cell has concentration of organelles.
* Example, Plasmodium
* Cause of malaria
* Complex life cycle: uses mosquito and human as host
* One of most serious diseases worldwide: 500 million cases/yr (2 million deaths).
* Attacked by mosquito control (often insecticides) and antimalarial drugs
* Problem: both mosquitoes and Plasmodium evolve resistance to control chemicals

5) Heterotrophs with restricted mobility

 Phylum Oomycota (oomycetes)

* All are parasites or saprobes (feed on dead organic matter). About 600 species
* Cell walls present (cellulose)
* Gametic life cycles (like us!)
* Make asexual spores by mitosis: called mitospores. As with all spores, one can form new
organism without joining with another cell. If swimming mitospore, called a zoospore.
* May form threadlike cells
� One called hypha (pl. hyphae).
* Importance: some cause diseases of plants or fish
* Example, late blight of potato (Phytophthora).

 Phylum Acrasiomycota (cellular slime molds)

Weird group: 70 species.
* Amoeboid cells
* Join together for form mass called "slug"
* Makes spores.
(plasmodial slime molds)

 Phylum Myxomycota (plasmodial slime molds)

* Another weird group (700 species). Plasmodium is multinucleate mass of cytoplasm
* Flows around in moist areas, ingesting unicells and organic matter
* Example, Physarum.
(plasmodial slime molds)
* Later form meiospores with cellulose walls
* Note a spore-containing structure often called a "sporangium" ("angios" from Greek
for "vessel")

Example of Archaebacteria And Eubacteria

Archaebacteria
are primitive, single-celled microorganisms that are prokaryotes with no cell nucleus. Each
archaea has the ability to live in very severe environments.

Archaebacteria are classified as one of the six kingdoms of life that living organisms are broken
into: plants, animals, protists, fungi, eubacteria (or true bacteria), and archaebacteria.
Archaebacteria examples have unusual cell walls, membranes, ribosomes, and RNA
sequences. They often have the ability to produce methane.

 Crenarchaeota Examples
One type of archaebacteria is crenarchaeota, which can live in extreme temperatures or acidity.
Examples include:
Acidilobus saccharovorans
Aeropyrum pernix
Desulfurococcus kamchatkensi
Hyperthermus butylicus
Igniococcus hospitalis

 Euryarchaeota Examples
Another type of archaebacteria is euryarchaeota, which include ones who produce methane or
live in water with high salt content.
Examples include:
Archaeoglobus fulgidus
Archaeoglobus veneficus
Archaeoglobus profundus
Ferroglobus placidus

 Methanogen Examples
Methanogens are archaea that produce methane gas as a metabolic by-product in areas of low
oxygen content. They are found in human intestines, wetlands, hot springs or geothermal vents.
Examples include these strains:
Methanobacterium bryantii
Methanobacterium formicum
Methanobrevibacter arboriphilicus
Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii

 Halobacteriaceae Examples
Halobacteriaceae are archaebacteria that live in highly-saturated salty environments.
Examples include:
Haladaptatus
Halalkalicoccus
Halarchaeum
Haloalcalophilium

 Thermophiles Examples
Thermophiles are archaebacteria that live at extremely hot temperatures, as in geothermal
environments.
Examples of species of the genus Sulfolobus include:
Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
Sulfolobus islandicus
Sulfolobus metallicus

 Psychrophiles Examples
Psychrophiles are archaebacteria that thrive in extremely cold temperatures from a polar region
to the deep sea.
Examples include:
Methanogenium boonei
Methanogenium cariaci
Methanogenium frigidum
Methanogenium marinum

Other Archaebacteria Examples

Candidatus Korarchaeum cryptofilum
Nanoarchaeum equitans
Cenarchaeum symbiosum - Strain A
Cenarchaeum symbiosum - Strain B
Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum limnia
Nitrosopumilus maritimus

Eubacteria
Eubacteria, also known as the true bacteria, have a bad reputation. They are seen as disease
causing agents. Every day new products come out advertising their ability to destroy these
dangerous creatures. In reality, only a small percentage of these organisms cause disease. The
rest fulfill many important roles in the natural world. Eubacteria are used in the production of
wines, cheeses and yogurts and are also part of the process used at wastewater treatment
plants.
Examples of Eubacteria:
1. Cocci
Cause abscesses, boils, and other infections of the skin. Cocci can often be found in the nose
and on the skin without causing disease, but it is also responsible for causing conditions such
as pneumonia, meningitis and toxic shock syndrome. Another form of cocci that originates in the
throat or skin, include strep throat and scarlet fever. This type bacterium causes bacterial
meningitis, an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, after entering the body through the
nose or throat.
2. Bacilli
E coli is an example of this rod-shaped bacteria that normally lives in your intestinal tract without
causing disease. However, a few strains of E. coli do cause disease that is spread typically by
eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Another form of bacilli enters the respiratory tract
and causes diphtheria. Diphtheria causes a thick coating on the back of the nose and throat,
making it difficult to swallow or breathe, followed by swelling of the neck and potentially death.
This bacterium grows in long chains and can infect you through broken skin, ingestion or
inhalation.
3. Spirilla
When this bacterium enters the human body it causes diarrhea. This condition is typically
acquired in places where sanitation is poor or by eating raw or undercooked poultry. When this
example of bacteria is found in your stomach, inflammation and ulcers result.

Difference Between Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

Main Difference – Archaebacteria vs Eubacteria
Archaebacteria and eubacteria are two domains of the kingdom: Monera, which contains
the least organized unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms on earth. Both archaebacteria
and eubacteria are single-celled microorganisms, which are usually called prokaryotes.
The main difference between archaebacteria and eubacteria is that archaebacteria are
usually found in extreme environmental conditions whereas eubacteria are found
everywhere on earth.
This article examines,
1. What is Archaebacteria
– Characteristics, Classification, Types, Examples
2. What is Eubacteria
– Characteristics, Classification, Types, Examples
3.What is the difference