The fungal world: Basic traits	Zygomycetes	Ascomycetes	Basidomycetes
Chytrids	Slime molds (P)	Oomycota	1. Deuteromycetes 2. Lichens

Subkingdom Mastigobionta or the flagellated molds

Unicellular organisms commonly known as chytrids belong to this Subkingdom. They are very small motile cells which possess flagella. The orgin of the chytrids is unknown whereas the water molds appear to have been derived from a brown algae which lost it's ability to photosynthesize..

Division: Chtridiomycota (chytrids)

• Are tiny unicellular or nonseptate organisms that produce motile cells with a single posterior flagellum and can be found in fresh or marine waters.
• The cell wall is composed of chitin. They can be parasitic or saprotrophic on algae, plants and insects and frogs ( see the article below).
• Both the sexual and asexual spores are motile. as you can see from the image below.. makes sense in an aquatic environment for dispersal..

Image from:http://www.wisc.edu/botany/images/fungi/fungi/sld031.htm

* Order: Blastocladiales

Possess reproductive cells each with a single posterior flagellum; nonseptate hyphae (except gametangia); sporophyte produces two types of sporangia depending on environmental conditions.

Allomyces:

 
Chytrids:

Researchers discover frog-killing fungus Thursday, June 25, 1998

A newly discovered fungus is killing frogs and toads around the world, according to New Scientist Magazine.

The fungus, which coats their undersides and legs, is thought to be suffocating the animals, which breathe through their skins. Scientists say it could be a major factor underlying the decline in amphibian populations reported worldwide.

Scientists do not know where the fungus came from or how it spread but it has struck 10 species of frogs and toads in 10 areas of Australia, seven species in Panama and six species in American zoos and aquariums. It was first noticed in arroyo toads at a zoo in Washington, D.C.

"There is little doubt that this is a worldwide phenomenon," veterinary pathologist Allan Pessier, of the National Zoological Park in Washington, told the magazine.

The fungus, which was discovered independently by researchers in the United States and Australia, belongs to a new genus of chytrid, a group thought to be related to the earliest fungi.

"The scientists don't yet know if the fungus is the primary cause of death, or is killing the animals weakened by other factors, such as ultraviolet radiation penetrating the atmosphere due to the thinned ozone layer or agricultural chemicals," the magazine said.

The same fungus was first found in 1988 and has since been found in other captive amphibians in the U.S. It was found in Australia at the Melbourne Zoo in 1993.

Pessier and his colleague Don Nichols teamed up with Joyce Longcore of the University of Maine to identify the fungus. Meanwhile, researchers from the Australian Animal Health Laboratory near Melbourne made a similar discovery which will be reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences next month.

Pressier believes the frogs and toads are suffocating because of the fungal growth and because, in reaction to the fungus, they are laying down extra layers of keratin in their skin.

The researchers say that an antifungal treatment might be possible in zoos, but this is not a viable option for frogs in the wild. They are calling for further research on the subject.

For more information, contact Barbara Thurlow, New Scientist, (202)452-1178, email: newscidc@idt.net.