Kingdom Fungi Class Chytridiomycetes | Division Chytridiomycota Rank Order | |
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Similar Chytridiales, Asellariales, Chytridiomycetes, Zoopagales, Pyrenulales | ||
Spizellomycetales is an order of fungi in the Chytridiomycetes. Spizellomycetalean chytrids are essentially ubiquitous zoospore-producing fungi found in soils where they decompose pollen. Recently they have also been found in dung and harsh alpine environments, greatly expanding the range of habitats where one can expect to find these fungi. The order includes the following genera:
Role in the environment
Spizellomycetalean chytrids have beneficial roles in the soil for nutrient recycling and as parasites of organisms that attack plants, such as nematodes and oospores of downy mildews. On the other hand, they also have detrimental roles as parasites of arbuscular mycorrhizae, symbiotic fungi that help plants gain essential nutrients. Culture isolation studies and molecular characterization of these fungi have demonstrated a great deal of undescribed diversity within the Spizellomycetales, even for isolates collected within the same geographic location. Thus, these understudied fungi await greater exploration.