Phycomycetes

Thesaurus

Noun

Phycomycetes - a large and probably unnatural group of fungi and funguslike organisms comprising the Mastigomycota (including the Oomycetes) and Zygomycota subdivisions of the division Eumycota; a category not used in all systemsPhycomycetes grouptaxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group - animal or plant group having natural relationsFungi, fungus kingdom, kingdom Fungi - the taxonomic kingdom including yeast, molds, smuts, mushrooms, and toadstools; distinct from the green plants

Phycomycetes

[¦fī·kō‚mī′sēd·ēz] (mycology) A primitive class of true fungi belonging to the Eumycetes; they lack regularly spaced septa in the actively growing portions of the plant body, and have the sporangiospore, produced in the sporangium by cleavage, as the fundamental, asexual reproductive unit.

Phycomycetes

a class of lower fungi that usually have a well-developed multinuclear, noncellular mycelium. The class includes approximately 800 species. Reproduction occurs sexually by means of gametes; asexual reproduction occurs by means of motile spores formed within zoosporangia or by means of nonmotile spores that develop endogenously in sporangia and exogenously on distinctive conidiophores.

The Phycomycetes are divided into two subclasses, oomycetes and zygomycetes, according to their manner of reproduction. In modern taxonomy, the two subclasses are often designated as independent classes. Many of the Phycomycetes resemble green algae in their body structure and reproductive organs. However, it is possible that this is a superficial resemblance indicative of convergence, and that the ancestors of the phycomycetes were the fungi Archimycetes. Some mycologists consider Archimycetes and Phycomycetes to constitute a single class of lower fungi. Most of the Phycomycetes are aquatic saprophytes. More highly developed species have adapted to terrestrial existence, and some parasitize plants, animals, and humans.

M. A. LITVINOV

phycomycetes

Zygomycetes

[zi´´-go-mi-se´-tēz] a class of saprobic and parasitic fungi of the phylum Zygomycota; important pathogenic organisms are in the orders Entomophthorales and Mucorales.

Zy·go·my·ce·tes

(zī'gō-mī-sē'tēz), A class of fungi characterized by sexual reproduction resulting in the formation of a zygospore, and asexual reproduction by means of nonmotile spores called sporangiospores or conidia. Synonym(s): Phycomycetes [zygo- + G. mykēs (mykēt-), fungus]

phycomycetes

An obsolete group of fungi with nonseptate hyphae, reclassified as Zygomycota.

Phycomycetes

Related to Phycomycetes: Ascomycetes

noun

Synonyms for Phycomycetes

noun a large and probably unnatural group of fungi and funguslike organisms comprising the Mastigomycota (including the Oomycetes) and Zygomycota subdivisions of the division Eumycota

Synonyms

Phycomycetes group

Related Words

taxon
taxonomic category
taxonomic group
Fungi
fungus kingdom
kingdom Fungi