Divison: Ascomycota
Sack Fungi
Kirk Larson
(2/27/07)
General information:
- Ascomycota is named after their reproductive structures of asci and ascospores.
- All members of Ascomycota produce septate hyphae.
Classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum(division): Ascomycota
Major Classes: Hemiascomyctes, Euascomyces, Duteromyces
Hemiascomyctes:
Saccharomyces (budding yeast) :
Zygosaccharomyces bailii:
A type of budding yeast known to spoil food due to its high tolorance to modern preservational methods
Saccharomyces cerevisiae :
The common bakers and brewer's yeast.
Schizosaccharomyces (fission yeast) :
Yeast that divides by binnary fission insted of budding.
Euascomyces:
Euasomyces literally means "true asci." Unlike yeast all members of this group exhibit the classical ascocarp where the asci and ascospores are produced.
Euascomyces are classified by the types of ascocarp
Three Ascocarp Structures:
Cleistothecia
A closed ascocarp. The spores cannont be spread by the wind and relies on mechanical disruption to break open the ascocarp and release the spores |
Truffles have Cleistothecia and their spores are sperad by various animail that dig them up. |
Perithecia
A closed ascocarp simmilar to the Cleistothecia with an small opening called a ostiole. |
Nectria is a sprophyte and a parasite of trees, causing diseases such as apple canker andNectria twig blight |
Apothecia
A cup like ascocarp. Spores are exposed to the air and the wind |
 
Morrels and cup fungi both have exposed ascocarps |
More pictures: (Click to Enlarge)
:
From left to right: 1. The life cycle of a typical ascomycota fungus, 2. another cup fungus (hi-res wikipedia), 3. soradia is a common fungus in lab has asci that are indicitive of all asciocarps, 4. Neurospora crassa is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning "nerve spore" refers to the characteristic striations on the spores that resemble axons
Works Cited: Robert Egan, Bio 1450 power point, Wikipedia
Home -> Biology Page -> Classification Outline -> Fungi -> Ascomycota