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Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Although fungi are eukaryotic , many pathogenic fungi are microorganisms . [ 1 ] Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans; [ 2 ] their study is called " medical mycology ".
The organisms that constitute the microbial world are characterized as either prokaryotes or eukaryotes; Eukaryotic microorganisms possess membrane-bound organelles and include fungi and protists, whereas prokaryotic organisms are conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include Bacteria and Archaea.
A human pathogen is a pathogen (microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus) that causes disease in humans.. The human physiological defense against common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) is mainly the responsibility of the immune system with help by some of the body's normal microbiota.
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
Bacteria and archaea are almost always microscopic, while a number of eukaryotes are also microscopic, including most protists, some fungi, as well as some micro-animals and plants. Viruses are generally regarded as not living and therefore not considered to be microorganisms, although a subfield of microbiology is virology , the study of viruses.
The three-domain system adds a level of classification (the domains) "above" the kingdoms present in the previously used five- or six-kingdom systems.This classification system recognizes the fundamental divide between the two prokaryotic groups, insofar as Archaea appear to be more closely related to eukaryotes than they are to other prokaryotes – bacteria-like organisms with no cell nucleus.
The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany , even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.
Bacteria are fundamentally different from the eukaryotes (plants, animals, fungi, amebas, protozoa, and chromista). Eukaryotes have cell nuclei, bacteria do not. In 1969, Whittaker elevated the bacteria to the status of kingdom. His new classification system divided the living world into five kingdoms: Plantae, Animalia, Protista (Eunucleata ...