Other Free Encyclopedias :: Science Encyclopedia :: Science Encyclopedia Vol 3 :: Fungi - General Characteristics, Nutrition And Ecology, Evolution, Classification, Zygomycota, Conjugating Fungi, Ascomycota, Sac Fungi

Fungi - Deuteromycota, Imperfect Fungi

imperfect fungi Deuteromycota

The Deuteromycota is a heterogeneous group of unrelated species in which sexual reproduction has never been observed. Since mycologists refer to the "perfect phase" of a life cycle as the phase in which sexual reproduction occurs, these fungi are often referred to as imperfect fungi. These fungi may have lost their sexual phase through the course of evolution. Alternatively, biologists simply may not have found the appropriate environmental conditions to observe development of the sexual phase of their life cycle.

The Deuteromycota are classified as fungi for two main reasons. First, their multicellular tissue is similar to the hyphae of sac fungi and club fungi. Second, they have erect hyphae with asexual spores, called conidiophores, which are similar to those of the sac fungi and club fungi.

Most imperfect fungi are believed to be related to the sac fungi because their conidiophores closely resemble those produced by the sac fungi during their sexual phase. The imperfect fungi are not placed in the Ascomycota phylum because classification of that group is based on the morphology of sexual structures which the Deuteromycota do not have.

The best known fungus in this phylum is Penicillium. Some species in this genus appear as pathogenic, blue-green molds on fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. Several other species are important for the making of cheeses, such as blue cheese, Roquefort, and Camembert. Certainly the best known product from this genus is penicillin, the first widely-used antibiotic. Penicillin was first discovered in Penicillium notatum over 50 years ago, but is now known to be produced by many other species in this genus.


User Comments Add a comment…

11 days ago

OMG this helped me soooo much!!!! i love you

25 days ago

great info but i need more about imperfect fungi characteristics

about 1 month ago

same here kate! this was a great website

about 1 month ago

this is really helpful, i'm using it to do a science project

about 1 month ago

thanks a lot....

7 months ago

yea well this site helped a little but it needs more like the reproduction cycle, adaptations, and the scientific name

7 months ago

thx this helped a lot for bio

7 months ago

helpful for bio. thx

7 months ago

Me and my friend have to make an accrostic poem and this reaaaaaaaaaally helped. Word.

7 months ago

im happy that i found this page, because i used if for a science project i found. and me and my boyfriend got a good grade on it, so thats good. :P

8 months ago

It was 90% perfect, just add a few more of the structures that Deuteromycota organisms use for asexual reproduction. That will make it perfect!! A great website!

9 months ago

it gives me lot of info...

12 months ago

this web site rox!!!! it helped a lot!!!

about 1 year ago

yeah,its a great work it will help me but i also need that how deutromytes generates variability.please help me out

about 1 year ago

I love this website

about 1 year ago

thanks so much! helped a ton =]

about 1 year ago

WootWoot! this is awesome. gee it helped me so much on my research paper for college. yyayyaya thank ya babe.

about 1 year ago

very useful thanks a mil!!

about 1 year ago

ya, nicole is right. but r there any other examples other than penicillin?

about 1 year ago

very good information