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Chytridiomycota
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Chytridiomycota

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Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek (''''), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoospores. Chytrids are one of the earliest diverging fungal lineages, and their membership in kingdom Fungi is demonstrated with chitin cell walls, a posterior whiplash flagellum, absorptive nutrition, use of glycogen as an energy storage compound, and synthesis of lysine by the -amino adipic acid (AAA) pathway.

Species

chytrids

PHYLUM

  1. KingdomFungi
  2. PhylumChytridiomycota
Habitatmarine, freshwater
Observations recorded559,763

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
11
Collections
OSC, UPS
Recorded in
United States, Norway

~14 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • Classification
  • Morphology
  • Life cycle
  • Habitats
  • Ecological functions
  • ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis''
  • Other parasites
  • Saprobes
  • Fossil record
  • In fictional media
  • References
  • External links

Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek (''), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoospores. Chytrids are one of the earliest diverging fungal lineages, and their membership in kingdom Fungi is demonstrated with chitin cell walls, a posterior whiplash flagellum, absorptive nutrition, use of glycogen as an energy storage compound, and synthesis of lysine by the -amino adipic acid (AAA) pathway.

Chytrids are saprobic, degrading refractory materials such as chitin and keratin, and sometimes act as parasites. There has been a significant increase in the research of chytrids since the discovery of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causal agent of chytridiomycosis.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chytridiomycota” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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