Mucoromyceta

Key takeaways

Mucoromyceta belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mucoromyceta to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mucoromyceta from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mucoromyceta is a subkingdom of fungi which includes the divisions Calcarisporiellomycota, Glomeromycota, Mortierellomycota and Mucoromycota. This enormous group includes almost all molds. Sources published prior to Tedersoo et al. 2018 refer to this taxon as a phylum Mucoromycota, with three subphyla. In a 2016 study using this older treatement of "Mucoromycota" equivalent to current Mucoromyceta, the group appears as sister to Dikarya. Informally known as zygomycetes I, Mucoromyceta includes Mucoromycotina, Mortierellomycotina, and Glomeromycotina, and consists of mainly mycorrhizal fungi, root endophytes, and plant decomposers. Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycotina can form mycorrhiza-like relationships with nonvascular plants. Mucoromyceta contain multiple mycorrhizal lineages, root endophytes, and decomposers of plant-based carbon sources. Mucoromycotina species known as mycoparasites, or putative parasites of arthropods are like saprobes. When Mucoromyceta infect animals, they are seen as opportunistic pathogens. Mucoromycotina are fast-growing fungi and early colonizers of carbon-rich substrates. Mortierellomycotina are common soil fungi that occur as root endophytes of woody plants and are isolated as saprobes. Glomeromycotina live in soil, forming a network of hyphae, but depend on organic carbon from host plants. In exchange, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi provide nutrients to the plant.

Description Molds in this group have a stalk which at the top has a caplike structure that includes the spores.

Reproduction Known reproduction states of Mucoromyceta are zygospore production and asexual reproduction. Zygospores can have decorations on their surface and range up to several millimeters in diameter. Asexual reproduction typically involves the production of sporangiospores or chlamydospores. Multicellular sporcaps are present within Mucoromycotina, Mortierellomycotina and as aggregations of spore-producing in species of Glomeromycotina. Shown in Mucorales, sexual reproduction is under the control of mating type genes, sexP and sexM, which regulate the production of pheromones required for the maturation of hyphae into gametangia. The sexP gene is expressed during vegetative growth and matting, while the sexM gene is expressed during mating. Sexual reproduction in Glomeromycotina is unknown, although its occurrence is inferred from genomic studies. However, specialized hyphae produce chlamydospore-like spores asexually; these may be borne at terminal (apical) or lateral positions on the hyphae, or intercalary (formed within the hypha, between sub-apical cells). Species of Glomeromycotina produce coenocytic hyphae that can have bacterial endosymbionts. Mortierellomycotina reproduce asexually by sporangia that either lack or have a reduced columella, which support the sporangium. Species of Mortierellomycotina only form microscopic colonies, but some make multicellular sporocarps. Mucoromycotina sexual reproduction is by prototypical zygospore formation and asexual reproduction and involves the large production of sporangia.

Morphology Mucoromycotina contain discoidal hemispherical spindle pole bodies. Although spindle pole bodies function as microtubule organizing centers, they lack remnants of the centrioles' characteristic 9+2 microtubule arrangement. Species of Mucoromycotina and Mortierellomycotina produce large-diameter, coenocytic hyphae. Glomeromycotina also form coenocytic hyphae with highly branched, narrow hyphal arbuscules in host cells. When septations occur in Mucoromyceta they are formed at the base of reproductive structures.

Production of lipids, polyphosphates, and carotenoids Mucoromyceta's metabolism can utilize many substrates that are from various nitrogen and phosphorus resources to produce lipids, chitin, polyphosphates, and carotenoids. They have been found to co-produce metabolites in a single fermentation process like polyphosphates and lipids. The overproduction of chitin from Mucoromyceta fungi can be accomplished by limiting inorganic phosphorus and promoting acidic conditions. Mucoromyceta are capable of accumulating high amounts of lipids in their cell biomass, which allows the fungi to produce polyunsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids. They have been found to induce antimicrobial activity from fungal crude total lipids. The high production of lipids from Mucoromyceta have the potential for use in biodiesel production.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mucoromyceta

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mucoromyceta claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mucoromyceta before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mucoromyceta ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mucoromyceta

In research: Mucoromyceta appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mucoromyceta in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mucoromyceta is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fungi by classification, Fungus phyla, Fungus taxa, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mucoromyceta outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Mucoromyceta in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mucoromyceta means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mucoromyceta out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mucoromyceta in simple terms?

Mucoromyceta is a subkingdom of fungi which includes the divisions Calcarisporiellomycota, Glomeromycota, Mortierellomycota and Mucoromycota. This enormous group includes almost all molds.

Why does Mucoromyceta matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mucoromyceta?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mucoromyceta.