Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 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').
Fungi that cause infections in people include yeasts, molds and fungi that are able to exist as both a mold and yeast. [3] The yeast Candida albicans can live in people without producing symptoms, and is able to cause both superficial mild candidiasis in healthy people, such as oral thrush or vaginal yeast infection , and severe systemic ...
The original report of sex in fungi, occurred two centuries ago, based on observations of the fungus Syzygites megalocarpus (Mucoromycotina) (reviewed by Idnurm [1]). This species, was subsequently used in 1904, to represent self-fertile species when the concept of two major mating strategies were developed for the fungi.
The differences between fungi and other organisms regarded as plants had long been recognised by some; Haeckel had moved the fungi out of Plantae into Protista after his original classification, [8] but was largely ignored in this separation by scientists of his time. Robert Whittaker recognized an additional kingdom for the Fungi. [11]
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fungi and mycology: . Fungi – "Fungi" is plural for "fungus". A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes unicellular microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as multicellular fungi that produce familiar fruiting forms known as mushrooms.
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.