fungi in the phylum Microspora
Fungi appear in the news with surprising frequency. However, many of those stories do not provide any new information. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned about fungi from November 2016 Through February 2017. Read below to learn about: two-fungi lichens, the fate of bananas, battery recycyling, Crohn’s disease, orcas, human pathogenic fungi, and more! Visit the associated links to get the full story.
Phylum microspora (not to be confused with the green algae genus Microspora) contains some of the most unusual fungi: the microsporidia. There are over 1200 described species in this phylum (and that is only a fraction of their biodiversity), divided into about 150 genera (plural of genus). These organisms were originally thought to be protozoans, but recent DNA studies have demonstrated that they belong with the fungi. The microsporidia are all obligate parasites of animals and have an extremely reduced cell structure. They do not have mitochondria, so they can only grow and reproduce within the cells of their host. Their very resistant spores persist in the environment for a long time and allow them to spread from one animal to another. The spores are 1 to 40 micrometers long, making them the smallest eukaryotes. The spores are rougly oval and have a cell wall made of chitin that is...
![#011: Characteristics of Kingdom Fungi [Archived]](https://www.fungusfactfriday.com/wp-content/themes/hueman/assets/front/img/thumb-small-empty.png)
