CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI

Fungi are a kingdom that is classified in Zygomycota division,

Ascomycota Division, Basidiomycota division, and Deuteromycota division that
usually multicellular eukaryotic organisms that are heterotrophs and have
important roles in nutrient cycling in an ecosystem. All fungi reproduce using
spores. Spores are microscopic cells or groups of cells that disperse from their
parent fungus, usually through wind or water. Spores can become dormant for a
long time until conditions are favorable for growth. This is an adaptation for
opportunism; with a sometimes unpredictable food source availability, spores can
be dormant until they are able to colonize a new food source. Fungi produce
spores through sexual and asexual reproduction, and they also have symbiotic
associations with plants and bacteria. However, they are also responsible for some
diseases in plants and animals. The study of fungi is known as mycology.

Firstly, in this classification fungi is classified in Zygomycota Division.

The name of Zygomycota comes from a type of sexual self-propagation,
especially in the form ation of zigospores. The members of this division have
more than 1,000 known species and this fungi is also known as zygote fungi. This
division is considered the most primitive terrestrial fungi. Live on the ground or
on decaying plants or dead animals. Some of these fungi are parasites in plants,
insects, and small animals, while others form symbiotic relationships with plants.
Zigospores created because of the fusion of two gametangiums that connect the
two hyphae of the parent such as a connecting bridge. The types of hyphae that
make up the body are aseptic or senocytic. Most of the zygomycota (zigomikota)
fungi live in the soil as saprophytes. Live from digesting organic materials such as
dead plants or animals. Examples of fungi from the zigomycota division are
Rhizopus oligosporus and Rhizopus oryzae, Murcor mucedo, Murcor javanicus.
Some Mucor and Rhizopus sp are used in the leather, detergent and medical
industries. The characteristic of the Fungi Zygomycota Division are :

 Ussually life as a saprophyte.

 It’s mycelium has many branches and it’s hyphae do not insulate so that it
looks like a pipe or reed.
 The cell wall consists of chitin, does not have zoospores so that the spores are
walled cell which these spores are scattered everywhere.
 Asexual breeding is done with spores originating from broken sporangium.
Some hyphae will grow and in the ends is created as sporangium.
Sporangium contains spores. These scattered spores will grow into new
mycelium.
 Sexual breeding is done by fusing two hyphae, namely female hyphae and
male hyphae. Male hyphae are hyphae that give the contents of the cell.
Female hifa is the hyphae that receives the contents of the cell. This breeding
is done with gametangium which is of the same shape (male hyphae and
female hyphae) which contain many nuclei. Furthermore, gametangium held
copulation.

Secondly is Ascomycota Division that have sealed hyphae and the cell
wall consists of chitin and can live as saprophytic, parasitic, or symbiotic. a group
of fungi that reproduce by forming spores in their cells (small sacs) called askus.
It is this formation of ascus that characterizes Ascomycota. Furthermore, this
division is a group of fungi that reproduce by forming spores in their cells (small
sacs) called askus. The formation of this ascus is that characterizes of
Ascomycota. This fungi also is Known as bag mushrooms that have members of
this division cover almost 75% of the total species of fungi that exist. They are the
largest fungal phylum, with more than 64,000 species. However, some
ascomycetes normally are found inside humans, such as Candida albicans, a yeast
which lives in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and female reproductive tracts.
Ascomycetes have reproductive sacs known as asci, which produce sexual spores,
but they also reproduce asexually.
The group of this fungi can be found on the surface of bread, rice, and
foods that are already stale. The color is red, brown or green. Examples of
Ascomycota fungi that live as saprophytes, among others, are Saccharomyces
cereviciae like in the yeast beer, bread, and alcohol, Saccharomyces tuac,
Saccharomyces ellipsoideus that we can find in, Penicillium sp. Thatwe can find
on rotten food and bread, and Neurospora crassa that we can find in making
oncom. An example of a fungus that grows as a parasite is the Saccharomycosis
fungus which attacks the children's oral epithelium. This fungi can symbiosis with
green algae to form lichenes.
The Askus that is produced by the Ascomycota fungi has various forms
and this is the basis for classifying Ascomycota. Some forms of Ascomycota are
as follows :
 Kleistotes, in this group of fungi is rounded in shape which is a
characteristic of the Plectomyces class. Examples of these fungi include the
genus Penicillium and Aspergillus.
 Peritesium, In this group of fungi, bottle-shaped ascocarp is a characteristic
of the Pyrenomycetes class, a well-known example of this fungi is
Neurospora, Roselinia arcuata, Xylaria tabacina.
 Apotesium, This form of fungi that ascocarp is like a cup or bowl, for
example, aurantia Peziza, Marshella esculenta, and Tuber sp.
 Askus Te-lanjang, in this group of fungi does not form in fruiting body that
is characteristic of the Protoascomycetes class. Examples of this fungi are as
Maccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, Trichoderma.

Thirdly classification of the fungi is Basidiomycota division. The

Characteristics of Basidiomycota division is having basidium. The group of this
fungi is known because the fruit in its body is clearly visible on the surface of the
ground or other substrates. The shape of the fruit in its body varies, some are like
umbrellas, balls or boards. For example, merang mushroom (Volvariella
volvacea) with an umbrella shaped fruit in its body.
In general, the fruit in its body has 4 parts, namely the stem of the fruit
body (stipe), hood (pileus), volva, and blade (lamella). Stipe is an erect mycelium
mass which pileus is a part that is supported by a stipe. When it is still young,
pileus is wrapped by a membrane called the velum universale which will rupture
before adulthood. Volva is a wrapper found at the base of the stalk. Lamella is the
bottom of the hood, in the form of strands, and is composed of sheets. The group
of this fungi has a fruiting body that is easily recognizable. Sexual reproduction
produces basiodospora, formed in a special structure called basidium. Asexual
reproduction by forming conidium. Members of Basidiomycota (basidiomikota)
are parasitic, especially in plants. In this case, some of the Basidiomycota division
are important and some of them are harmful is used. Some examples of important
Basidiomycota division are as follows.
 Volvariella volvacea and Agaricus bisporus, mushrooms that are cultivated to
be cooked as food ingredients. This fungus is grown in a medium containing
cellulose (eg straw) with high humidity.
 Auricularia polytrica (ear mushroom), this mushroom is good to eat, live on
stems of dead plants.
Some examples of harmful Basidiomycota are as follows.
 Puccinia graminis, this fungus lives parasites on grass.
 Ustilago maydis, this parasitic fungus in corn plants, attacks leaf sukam, cob,
tufts and stems. You are the most striking if the corn plant is attacked by this
fungus is the presence of several corn grains on the cob to be much larger
than normal size.
 Ganoderma pseudoferreum, this fungus causes root rot in cocoa, coffee, tea,
rubber and other plantation crops.
 Ganoderma applanatum, this fungus causes damage to wood.

Fourth Classification of the fungi is Deuteromycota division. The fungi of

Deuteromycetes is a fungus that multiplies with conidia and its sexual stage is
unknown. In its exist, no ascus or basidium was found so it was not included in
the Ascomycota or Basidiumycota fungi class. Therefore, this fungus is an
imperfect fungus (fungal imperfection). The group of this fungi is not in
accordance with the commonly found fungi classification or classification which
is based on the biological concept of the species or the morphological
characteristics of the sexual structure.
This fungi classification also do not fit into the commonly established
taxonomic classifications of fungi that are based on biological species concepts or
morphological characteristics of sexual structures because their sexual form of
reproduction has never been observed. Only their asexual form of reproduction is
known, meaning that these fungi produce their spores asexually, in the process
called sporogenesis. There are about 25,000 species that have been classified in
the deuteromycota and many are basidiomycota or ascomycota anamorphs.
In addition, there are a number of edible imperfect fungi, including the
ones that provide the distinctive characteristics of Roquefort and Camembert
cheese. Other, more informal names besides Deuteromycota ("Deuteromycetes")
and fungi imperfect are anamorphic fungi, or mitosporic fungi, but these are terms
without taxonomic rank. Examples are Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Trichoderma
etc. Although Fungi imperfect or Deuteromycota is no longer formally accepted
as a taxon, many of the fungi it included have yet to find a place in modern fungal
classification. This is because most fungi are classified based on characteristics of
the fruiting bodies and spores produced during sexual reproduction, and members
of the Deutromycota have only been observed to reproduce asexually or produce
no spores. The characteristics of the Deuteromycota are as follow:
 Many are destructive or cause diseases in animals, humans and plants.
 Ascesual reproduction with condium and sexuality is unknown.
 Parasitic in livestock and saprophyte live in garbage.
 Its hifa insulated.
 It has microscopic body.
The fungi that classified to imperfection fungi causes many disease, for
example, mushrooms Helminthosporium oryzae, can damage the sprouts,
especially attacking the fruit and causing black stains in the leaves of the host, the
next is Sclerotium rolfsii is a rot disease in various plants, other one is
Epidermophyton floocosum which causes water lice, the next is Epidermophyton
microsporum which causes tinea versicolor, furthermore is Tychophyton
tonsurans that cause dandruff in the head.

Finally, the kingdom of the fungi can classified in four classification that
has each function its self in their exist. Some of them are beneficial for living
being and some of them also are harmful for the living being. But for overall, we
should to study about that to improve our knowledge about them, so that we can
classified them which is important and which is harmful in using them to support
our daily life as a living being.