1.
Phylum Chytridiomycota Presented by:
Fasama Hilton Kollie
Lecturer, MPCHSChytrids

2.
Lesson Outline
• Overview of the phylum
Chytridiomycota
• Habitat and Habit, Morphology,
Mode of nutrition, Movement
• Reproduction in Chytridiomycota
• Economic and Ecological
Importance
• Positive and Negative Impart
• Overview of the Phylum
Zygomycota
• Reproduction in Zygomycota
• Life cycle of Rhizopus stolonifer
• Bread mold and types
• Ecological and Economic
importance
• Conclusion

3.
Lesson Objectives
• Upon completion of this topic, students will be able to;
1. Define the term Chytrids and Zygote fungi
2. Describe the phylum chytridiomycota and Zygomycota
3. Discuss mode of reproduction in zygote fungi
4. Discuss the positive and negative impart of these organisms

4.
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Chytridiomycota – “Chytrids”
• A division of zoosporic organisms in
the kingdom Fungi
• Informally known as Chytrids
• 700 species
• Produce spores and gametes
• Only fungi with flagellated cells at
any stage during their life cycle

5.
General Characteristics: Habitat & Habit
• Usually live as water molds on dead
leaves, branches, or animal in fresh
water
• Several species are parasitic to plant
and animals
• Eg: Black wart, a serious disease of
potatoes

6.
Phylum Chytridiomycota: Morphology
• Most consist of spherical cells
or coenocytic hyphae
• Some hyphae form robot-like
structures called rhizoids
• These fungi are uniflagellated
cells (Protist characteristic)
Most Chytrids are structurally fairly simple

7.
General Characteristics:
Mode of Nutriton
• Chytridiomycota feed on both living and decaying organisms
• Most are parasites of algae and animals or live on organic debris as
saprobes
• They are heterotrophic organism / Saphrotrophs
• Absorptive nutrition
• A way of obtaining energy and nutrients in which digestive enzymes are
secreted into a substrate, then smaller, easily assimilated molecules are
absorbed through the cell membrane

8.
General Characteristics:
Movement
• Chytrids have a posterior whiplash flagellum
• Chytridiomycota reproduce with zoospores that are capable of active
movement through aqueous phases
• They are unique among all fungi in having motile stages in their life
cycles

9.
Reproduction In Chytridiomycetes
• The life cycle of Allomyces features an alternation of isomorphic
generation
• In Allomyces, the diploid sporophyte can reproduce asexually by releasing
diploid zoospores
• It initiates the sexual cycle through the release of this spore
• The sexual cycle germinate and develop into gametophytes

10.
Economic and Ecological Importance:
Positive Impact
• Members of Blastocladiales and Monoblepharidales generally appear to
function as decomposers of detritus in the aquatic and soil ecosystems
• Species of Coelomomyces (C. anophelescia) are endoparasites on mosquito
larvae and can be utilized for the biological control of the mosquito
(Anopheles spp.), which is an important vector for the spread of malaria in
human beings.
• Known for ability to decompose toughest biomaterials like chitin, keratin,
and pollen also help many herbivores digest cellulose.

11.
Economic and Ecological Importance:
Negative Impact
• Many Chytrids indirectly harm humans and animals. They parasitize
and destroy the phytoplanktonic forms of algae that form an
important link in food chain of aquatic ecosystems
• Why is Chytrids fungus a concern to the world?
• Populations of amphibians are declining worldwide, and chytrid
fungus is considered one of the primary threats
• The fungus causes chytridiomycosis, a disease deadly to amphibians

12.
Chytridiomycosis:
• An infectious disease in
amphihbians
• Caused by the Chytrid fungi
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
• A nonhyphal zoosporic fungus
• This has been linked to dramatic
population declines or even
extinctions of amphibian species

13.
Chytridiomycosis Cont’d…
• Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis attacks amphibians by infecting their outer skin
layers.
• Frog uses it’s outer skin to hydrate, control their body temperatures, regulate
minerals and nutrients, and sometimes even breathe.
• The infection makes the skin thicker and less permeable, resulting in electrolyte
imbalances, loss of muscle control, and heart failure.
• Frogs may also become lethargic and have redden or sloughed off skin
• Several treatments have shown promise but there is currently no cure. One key may
lie in figuring out why some species are more susceptible than others - some species
are resistant whiles other experience 85-100% fatality.

14.
Phylum
Zygomycota
Zygote Fungi

15.
• More than 1,000 species
• Organisms are referred to as “Zygote fungi”
• Most form coenocytic hyphae
• Zygomycota are defined and distinguished from all other fungi by
sexual reproduction via zygospores following gametangial fusion and
asexual reproduction by uni-to-multispored sporangia
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Zygomycota – “Zygote Fungi”

16.
General Characteristics: Habitat & Habit
• Mostly terrestrial in habitat
• Zygomycetes Live on dead plants and animals or other organic
matter, such as dung
• Eg: Coprophilous
• Some live as endosymbionts in the digestive tract of arthropods
• Others are fungal components of endomycorrhizae
• Zygomycota, like all true fungi, produce cell walls containing chitin

17.
General Characteristics: Habitat & Habit
• Zygomycetes cause many types of
soft rot in fruits and a few parasitic
diseases in animals
• Rhizopus stolonifer (black bread
mold)
• Haploid mycelia of Rhizopus grow
rapidly through the food, absorbing
nutrients

18.
Rhizopus stolonifer: Black Bread Mold

19.
General Characteristics: Form & Function
• They grow primarily as mycelia, or
filaments of long cells called
hyphae
• Most form coenocytic hyphae
• The unique character of the
Zygomycota is the zygospore

20.
General Characteristics: Mode of Nutrition
• Like other Fungi, Zygomycota are heterotrophic and typically grow inside
their food, dissolving the substrate with extracellular enzymes, and taking
up nutrients by absorption rather than by phagocytosis, as observed in
many protists

21.
Reproduction In Zygomycetes
• Zygomycota are thought to have a zygotic or haplontic life cycle
• Rhizopus is capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction both involve spores
• In stable environment, asexual reproduction predominates
• The mycelium extends specialized hyphae called stolon, across the surface of the
food
• Wherever the stolon touch the surface, rhizoids grow into the food
• Rhizoids anchor upright hyphae called sporangiophore
• This forms black sporangium at its tip

22.
Life Cycle of
Zygomycetes:
Rhizopus stolonifer

23.
Rhozopus
stolonifer
Life Cycle

24.
Bread Mold: How To Identify Types Of Mold
• Color
• Size/shape
• Texture

25.
What are The Different Types of Bread Molds
1. Rhizopus stolonifer (Black bread
mold)
This mold looks fuzzy on bread,
and when it first grows, it tends to
appear light in color. Overtime the
mold spot becomes black in color

26.
Different Types of Bread Molds Cont’d…
2. Penicillium sp.
Penicillium sp. appears as fuzzy
patches that are lightly colored,
tending to be white, gray or blue.
The pencillium molds, if left to
grow, can begin to produce
mycotoxins

27.
Ecological and Economic Importance
• Zygomycota are arguably the most ecologically diverse group of fungi. Zygomycota are
terrestrial organisms. They live close to plants, usually in soil and on decaying plant
matter. Because they decompose soil, plant matter, and dung, they have a major role in
the carbon cycle
• They form mutualistic symbiotic relationships with plants. In addition, they form
commensalist relationships with arthropods, inhabiting the gut of the organism and
feeding on unused nutrients
• Zygomycota are also pathogens for animals, amoeba, plants, and other fungi
• While Zygomycota are largely known to humans for the negative economic impact they
have on fruit, they also have some practical use. For example, certain species are used
in Asian food fermentations
• In addition, people have used their pathogenic powers to control insect pests.

28.
In Summary:
• Division chytridiomycota constitutes a phylum of zoosporic organisms in the
kingdom fungi
• Commonly called Chytrids
• Only fungi with flagellated cells at any stage during their life cycle
• Most consist of coenocytic hyphae
• Division zygomycota constitutes group of organism commonly referred to as
zygote fungi
• Most form coenocytic hyphae
• Distinguished from all other fungi by sexual reproduction via zygospores
following gametangia fusion and asexual reproduction

29.
Reference
• Nabors, Murray W., Introduction To Botany. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as
Benjamin Cummings, 1301 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94111. www.aw-bc.com
• Webster, J., & Weber, R. W. S. (2007). Introduction to fungi 3rd Ed.
• Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/science/Chytridiomycota
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycota
• http://tolweb.org/Zygomycota
• http://www.biologydiscussion.com/fungi/chytridiomycetes-features-and-significance-
phycomycotina/54817
• https://sciencetrends.com/bread-mold-how-to-identify-types-of-mold/
• https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Zygomycota
• http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/chytrid-fungus/
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-biology/chapter/sexual-reproduction/

30.
“Craving to become a successful person
without God is like wanting to erect a
skyscraper without a foundation”
Dr. Moses Ziah, II
THE END
Thanks for your time