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One oomycete, the mycoparasite Pythium oligandrum, is used for biocontrol, attacking plant pathogenic fungi. [5] The oomycetes are also often referred to as water molds (or water moulds ), although the water-preferring nature which led to that name is not true of most species, which are terrestrial pathogens.
Entomopathogenic fungi are parasitic unicellular or multicellular microorganisms belonging to the kingdom of Fungi, that can infect and seriously disable or kill insects. Pathogenicity for insects is widely distributed in the kingdom of fungi and occur in six fungal phyla (Ascomycota, Oomycetes, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, and ...
Conidia on conidiophores Chain of conidia of Alternaria Conidiomata of Cypress canker (probably Seiridium cardinale) erupting on a Thuja twig. A conidium (/ k ə ˈ n ɪ d i ə m, k oʊ-/ kə-NID-ee-əm, koh-; pl.: conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (pl.: chlamydoconidia), [1] is an asexual, [2] non-motile spore of a fungus.
In arid environments, bacteria and fungi dry out and are unable to take part in decomposition. In wet environments, anaerobic conditions will develop and decomposition can also be considerably slowed down. Decomposing microorganisms also require the appropriate plant substrates in order to achieve good levels of decomposition.
The primary decomposer of litter in many ecosystems is fungi. [11] [12] Unlike bacteria, which are unicellular organisms and are decomposers as well, most saprotrophic fungi grow as a branching network of hyphae. Bacteria are restricted to growing and feeding on the exposed surfaces of organic matter, but fungi can use their hyphae to penetrate ...
Prime decomposers are bacteria or fungi, though larger scavengers also play an important role in decomposition if the body is accessible to insects, mites and other animals. Additionally, [ 3 ] soil animals are considered key regulators of decomposition at local scales but their role at larger scales is unresolved.
In other words, the producers, consumers, and decomposers are the main trophic levels. This chain of energy transferring from one species to another can continue several more times, but eventually ends. At the end of the food chain, decomposers such as bacteria and fungi break down dead plant and animal material into simple nutrients.
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').