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Fungus

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A fungus is a member of the Kingdom Fungi, which includes mushrooms, molds, and yeast. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that feed on organic material, as saprobes, parasites or symbions, and produce spores. Fungi may cause human illness through infection, ingestion of poisonous and psychoactive mushrooms, and fungal allergies and sensitivities. Fungal infections have increased in importance because of the rise of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. Recent work in genomics has lead to significant changes in taxonomy, including identification of Pneumocystis and Microsporidia as primitive fungi.

1 Types
2 Pathogenic and Dangerous Fungi
3 Ascomycota ("sac fungi")
4 Basidiomycota ("small base fungi")
5 Zygomycota
6 Microsporidia
7 External Links

Types

subkingdom: Dikarya ("higher fungi")
- phylum: Ascomycota (true yeasts, molds, morels, and truffles)
- phylum: Basidiomycota (smuts, rusts, jellies, mushrooms, puffballs, and brackets)
phylum: Glomeromycota (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and relatives)
phylum: Zygomycota (pin molds and relatives)
- subphylum: Mucormycotina
- subphylum: Entomophthoromycotina
- subphylum: Kickxellomycotina
- subphylum: Zoopagomycotina
phylum: Blastocladiomycota (zoosporic fungi)
phylum: Chytridiomycota (zoosporic fungi)
phylum: Neocallimastigomycota (anaerobic fungi)
phylum: Microsporidia (unicellular parasites)

Pathogenic and Dangerous Fungi

The sections below contain a classification of fungi that cause superficial, cutaneous, subcutaneous and systemic mycoses in humans, including opportunistic infections, and of selected hazardous fungi that produce mycotoxins or psychoactive substances.

Ascomycota ("sac fungi")

subphylum: Pezizomycotina (formerly Euascomycota; reproduce by fission)
- class: Eurotiomycetes
  - order: Onygenales
    - family: Onygenaceae
      - Coccidioides immitis Stiles 1896 (Coccidiodomycosis: San Joaquin Valley Fever)
      - Coccidioides posadasii Fischer et al. 2002 (Coccidiodomycosis)
    - family: Ajellomycetaceae
      - Histoplasma capsulatum Darling 1906 (North American Histoplasmosis)
      - Histoplasma duboisii Vanbreus. 1952 (African Histoplasmosis)
      - Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Splend., 1912) Almeida 1930 (Paracoccidioidosis, South American blastomycosis)
    - family: Arthrodermataceae - many species associated with dermatophytosis in human
      - Trichophyton - at least 10 species cause tinea in humans
      - Microsporum - 17 species, probably all can be transmitted by contact to humans.
      - Epidermophyton floccosum (Acrothecium floccosum Harz 1890) Langeron & Miloch. 1930
    - family: uncertain
      - Lacazia loboi Taborda et al. 1999 (Lobo's disease, keloidal blastomycosis, lobomycosis)
  - order: Eurotiales
    - family Trichocomaceae
      - Penicillium marneffei Segretain 1960 (Penicilliosis)
      - Aspergillus (about 20 known human pathogens; mold-like fungus)
  - order: Chaetothyriales
    - family: Herpotrichiellaceae
      - Exophiala jeanselmei (Torula jeanselmei Langeron 1928) McGinnis & Padhye 1977 (Maduromycosis) ·
      - Fonsecaea pedrosoi (Hormodendrum pedrosoi Brumpt 1922) Negroni 1936 (Chromatoblastomycosis)
      - Fonsecaea compactum (Hormodendrum compactum Carrion 1935) Carrion 1940 (Chromatoblastomycosis)
      - Phialophora verrucosa Medlar 1915 (Chromatoblastomycosis)
      - Cladophialophora carrionii (Cladosporium carrionii Trejos 1954) de Hoog et al. 1995 (Chromatoblastomycosis)
      - Cladophialophora bantiana (Torula bantiana Sacc. 1912) de Hoog et al. 1995 (Phaeohyphomycosis)
- class: uncertain (dimorphic fungus, formerly considered an Onygenales)
  - Blastomyces dermatitidis Gilchrist & Stokes 1898 (blastomycosis)
- class: Sordariomycetes
  - order: Ophiostomatales
    - family Ophiostomataceae
      - Sporothrix schenckii Hektoen & Perkins 1900 (Sporotrichosis)
  - order: Microascales
    - family: Microascaceae
      - Pseudallescheria boydii (Allescheria boydii Shear 1922) McGinnis et al. 1982 (Alleascheriasis)
  - order: Hypocreales
    - family: Clavicipitaceae (psychoactive: ergotamine)
      - Claviceps purpurea (Sphaeria purpurea Fr. 1823) Tul. 1883 (ergotism)
- class: Dothideomycetes
  - order: Dothideales
    - family: Dothioraceae
      - Hortaea werneckii (Cladosporium werneckii Horta 1921) Nishim. & Miyaji, 1984 (aka Exophiala werneckii; tinea nigra)
    - family: Piedraiaceae
      - Piedra hortae Fonseca & Leão, 1928 (black piedra)
  - order: Botryosphaeriales
    - family: Botryosphaeriaceae
      - Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (Torula dimidiata Penz. 1887) Crous & Slippers 2006 (aka Scytalidium dimidiatum)
- class: Pezizomycetes
  - order: Pezizales
    - family: Discinaceae
      - Gyromitra esculenta (Helvella esculenta Pers. 1800) Fr. 1849 (a false morel; mycotoxin: gyromitrin)
subphylum: Saccharomycotina (one order; budding yeasts)
- order: Saccharomycetales
  - family: Saccharomycetaceae
    - Candida albicans (Robin, 1853) Berkhout 1923 (Candidiasis)
    - Candida glabrata (Anderson 1917) Mey & Yarrow, 1978 (Candidiasis)
    - Candida dubliniensis Sullivan et al. 1995 (Candidiasis)
    - Candida parapsilosis (Ashford 1928) Langeron & Talice 1932 (Candidiasis)
    - Candida tropicalis (Castell. 1910) Berkhout 1923 (Candidiasis)
    - Saccharomyces cerevisiae Meyen 1883 (brewer's and baker's yeast)
  - family: Dipodascaceae
    - Geotrichum candidum Link 1809 (geotrichosis)
subphylum: Taphrinomycotina (primitive Ascomycota: hyphal fungi and fission yeast) (four classes)
- class: Pneumocystidomycetes (contains one genus)
  - Pneumocystis jirovecii Frenkel 1976 (pneumocystis pneumonia; human-specific pathogen, often mistakenly called P. carinii, which is found in rats.)

Basidiomycota ("small base fungi")

subphylum Agaricomycotina
- class: Agaricomycetes
  - order: Agaricales
    - family: Amanitaceae (death cap, destroying angels, and related mushrooms)
      - genus: Amanita - some have amatoxins (e.g., α-amanitin)
    - family: Agaricaceae
      - genus: Lepiota - some have amatoxins
    - family: Bolbitiaceae
      - genus: Conocybe - some have amatoxins
    - family: Cortinariaceae
      - genus: Cortinarius - some are lethal webcaps (mycotoxin:orellanin)
    - family: Tricholomataceae
      - genus: Clitocybe - some have mycotoxins (e.g., muscarine); mushroom-induced erythromelalgia
    - family: Strophariaceae
      - genus: Psilocybe - some are psilocybin mushrooms (psychoactive: psilocybin)
      - genus: Gymnopilus - some are psilocybin mushrooms
      - genus: Galerina - some have amatoxins
      - genus: Hypholoma - some have mycotoxins (fasciculol E and fasciculol F)
    - family: Inocybaceae
      - genus: Inocybe - some have mycotoxins (e.g., muscarine) and some are psilocybin mushrooms
- class: Tremellocycetes
  - order: Tremellales (or Filobasidiales)
    - family: Tremellaceae
      - Cryptococcus neoformans (Saccharomyces neoformans San Felice 1895) Vuill. 1901 - (aka Filobasidiella neoformans; cryptococcosis, European blastomycosis)
      - Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii Franzot et al. 1999
      - Cryptococcus gattii (Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii Vanbreus. & Takashio 1970) Kwon-Chung & Boekhout 2002
    - family: Trichosporonaceae
      - Trichosporon beigelii (Pleurococcus beigelii Küchenm. & Rabenh. 1867) Vuill. 1902 (white piedra)
subphylum: Ustilaginomycotina
- class: unassigned
  - order Malasseziales
    - genus: Malassezia at least 10 recognized species - pityriasis versicolor (tinea versicolor), dandruff, seborrhoeic dermatitis
      - Malassezia furfur (Microsporum furfur C.P. Robin 1853) Baill. 1889
      - Malassezia globosa Midgley et al. 1996
      - Malassezia restricta Guého et al. 1996

Zygomycota

subphylum: Mucormycotina
- order: Mucorales (Mucormycosis)
  - family: Mucoraceae
    - Rhizopus arrhizus var. arrhizus A. Fisch. 1892 (aka Rhizopus oryzae; Mucor arrhizus)
    - Rhizomucor pusillus (Mucor pusillus Lindt 1886) Schipper 1978
    - Rhizomucor variabilis Zheng & Chen 1991
  - family: Mycocladaceae
    - Mycocladus corymbifer (Mucor corymbifer Cohn 1884) Váňová 1991 (aka Absidia corymbifera)
  - family: Syncephalastraceae
    - Syncephalastrum racemosum Cohn ex J. Schröt. 1886
subphylum: Entomophthoromycotina
- order: Basidiobolales
  - family Basidiobolaceae
    - Basidiobolus ranarum Eidam, 1886 (Basidiobolomycosis)
- order: Entomophthorales (Entomophthoramycosis)
  - family: Ancylistaceae
    - Conidiobolus coronatus (Boudierella coronata Costantin 1897) A. Batko 1964 (Conidiobolomycosis)
    - Conidiobolus incongruus Drechsler 1960 (Conidiobolomycosis)

Microsporidia

Microsporidia have appeared as opportunistic infections (microsporidiosis) in immunocompromized (e.g., AIDS patients) or immunosuppressed patients. Microsporidia include at least 14 human pathogens:

Brachiola algerae
B. connori
B. vesicularum
Encephalitozoon cuniculi
E. hellem
E. intestinalis
Enterocytozoon bieneusi
Microsporidium ceylonensis
M. africanum
Nosema ocularum
Pleistophora sp.
Trachipleistophora hominis
T. anthropophthera
Vittaforma corneae

External Links

Doctor Fungus
Index Fungorum
Tree of Life: Fungi

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