Imperfect+Fungi

Imperfect Fungi Kingdom: Fungi

All fungi are classified by their sexual phase during their life cycle. In certain circumstances, their sexual phase have not been discovered. Scientists place fungi in the phylum called Deuteromycota, also known as imperfect fungi, because they have been unsuccessful in observing their sexual phase. Scientists are simply incapable of finding the right environmental conditions to find a sexual phase in these organisms.

// Imperfect fungi //

Therefore, researchers are unable to place Deuteromycota in another phyla. These fungi may have possibly lost their sexual phase through evolution. The term “imperfect” is not used because there is nothing wrong with the organism, but because the understanding of their life cycle is not perfect. // Imperfect fungi //

A greater part of the Deuteromycota are extremely similar to ascomycetes. While a second portion of imperfect fungi closely resemble basidiomycetes and finally, a lesser part relate to zygomycetes. The multicellular tissue of the Deuteromycota is related to the hyphae of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes.


 * Remember: **
 * Ascomycetes are sac fungi.
 * Basidiomycetes are club fungi.
 * Zygomycetes are common molds.

There are about 17,00 found species of imperfect fungi. The best-known genera of this phylum is //Penicillium//. //Penicillium notatum// is a mold that appears blue-green in appearance and frequently grows on fruit. It goes through asexual reproduction by the means of conidia, which causes biologists to believe that //Penicillium// evolved from an ascomycete that lost its sexual phase of its life cycle. It is the source of the antibiotic penicillin. It was discovered in //Penicillium notatum// over 50 years ago but also known to be produced by other species in this genus.



//Picture shows Penicillium growth on an orange //