Classification

At present, fungi are classed into four groups, including:
• Zygomycetes: fungi living in the soil or on decomposing animal or vegetal organic material. Their reproduction is asexual and occurs by scattering spores, which are produced in special structures (black bulb-type sporangia). If the spores are formed in a different type of sporangium (zygosporangium), a sexed cycle occurs. This group includes the “black mildew” which develops on fruits, vegetables and many baked products. Many species in the class Zygomycetes form mycorrhizas.
• Ascomycetes: they include a wide variety of species, which are very different in size and living conditions. They are equipped with asci, sac-like structures that produce sexed spores (ascospores), which form at the end of the hyphae and are called conidia. This group includes yeast, edible mushrooms (Morchella esculenta and truffles) and some marine species.
• Basidiomycetes: this group includes edible mushrooms and plant parasites such as smuts and rusts. They usually consist of a fruit-bearing body composed of a stipe and cap, which forms when the fungus reproduces through sexed reproduction. The lower part of the cap is provided with a series of parallel or entwined lamellae, which host the basidia, tiny sporangia where sexed spores are formed. Nevertheless, the most frequent form of reproduction is the asexual one, which occurs through the spores produced by the conidia.
• Deuteromycetes: this group includes the species in which no sexual reproduction cycle has ever been observed and that cannot be grouped under any one of the other three classes.

 
Download "Fungi knowledge" pdf file
Download the junior version pdf file
 

Special reports

  • 5 February 2010

    Extreme bacteria

    Researchers from the Cnr with Bruno D’Argento and...

    27 September 2012

    Over 7 billion people on Earth

    Demographers have estimated that on 31 October 2011 world population...

    31 August 2013

    The Red List of Italian animals

    Italy has a rich biodiversity due to its distinctive geographic...

  • 3 November 2014

    Conan the bacterium

    Have you ever leafed through the pages of a book of Guinness World Records? You can find records of all…

    18 December 2021

    The Christmas Star Tradition

    Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...

    15 September 2021

    Can you be intelligent without a brain?

    Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…

  • 26 July 2021

    Japanese beetles and other alien species

    There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…

    16 June 2021

    A turtle’s life

    World Sea Turtle Day is held on 16 June. First established in 2008, the day is now supported by Sea…

    10 June 2021

    The world below

    Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a famous science fiction novel written by the great Jules Verne in…

From the Multimedia section

Facts

  • 13 May 2011

    Decomposing organisms

    The ability to destroy organic matter has been used by man...

    Bread and cheese, wine or beer

    Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...

  • Let’s eat!

    The economic importance of fungi is increased by the “edible” mushrooms...

    Predator mushroom

    <em>Pleutrotus ostreatus</em> mushroom does not have teeth or claws but it is...

  • Who lives well with low oxygen?

    <i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>

    Responsible for fish-plagues

    <em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...