The Entomophthorales are an order of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

that were previously classified in the class

Zygomycetes Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a former phylum, division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi. The members are now part of two Phylum, phyla: the Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycotina, Zoopagomycota. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly t ...

. A new subdivision, Entomophthoromycotina, has recently been

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

for them. Most species of the Entomophthorales are pathogens of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s. A few attack nematodes,

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...

s, and

tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbä ...

s, and some (particularly species of the genus ''

Conidiobolus ''Conidiobolus'' is a genus of fungi in order Entomophthorales. Some species were defined in ''Conidiobolus'' but then moved into other genera such as ''Capillidium'' and ''Batkoa''. This genus can cause a human infection known as conidiobolomy ...

'') are free-living

saprotroph Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

s. The name Entomophthorales is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

for insect destroyer ('' entomo-'' = referring to insects, and '' phthor'' = "destruction"). Pandora neoaphidis

Highlighted species

* ''

Basidiobolus ranarum ''Basidiobolus ranarum'' is a filamentous fungus with worldwide distribution. The fungus was first isolated by Eidam in 1886. It can saprophytically live in the intestines of mainly cold-blooded vertebrates and on decaying fruits and soil. The fu ...

'', a commensal fungus of frogs and a mammal pathogen * ''

Conidiobolus coronatus ''Conidiobolus coronatus'' is a saprotrophic fungus, first described by Costantin in 1897 as ''Boudierella coronata''. Though this fungus has also been known by the name ''Entomophthora coronata'', the correct name is ''Conidiobolus coronatus''. ...

'', a saprotrophic fungus of leaf litter and a mammal pathogen * ''

Entomophaga maimaiga ''Entomophaga maimaiga'' is a Japanese fungus which has shown striking success in managing spongy moth populations in North America. Etymology ''Maimaiga'' is the Japanese name for the spongy moth. History In 1908, shortly after classical e ...

'', a biocontrol agent of spongy moths * ''

Entomophthora muscae ''Entomophthora muscae'' is a species of pathogenic fungus in the order Entomophthorales which causes a fatal disease in flies. It can cause epizootic outbreaks of disease in houseflies and has been investigated as a potential biological control ...

'', a pathogen of houseflies * '' Massospora'' spp., pathogens of periodical cicadas * '' Pandora'', including '' Pandora neoaphidis'', an obligate pathogen of aphids

Biology

Most species of the Entomophthorales produce ballistic asexual spores that are forcibly discharged. When not landing on a suitable host, these spores can germinate to make one of several alternate spore forms, including a smaller version of the original spore, or (in some species) an adhesive spore elevated on a very slender

conidiophore A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

called a capilliconidiophore.

Classification

Recent debate has centered on whether the

Basidiobolaceae The Basidiobolaceae are a family of fungi in the monotypic order Basidiobolales. All fungal cells of this family are exclusively uninucleate and their relatively large nuclei contain a nucleolus, but no heterochromatin.http://zygomycetes.org/inde ...

should be included in the Entomophthorales, or raised to ordinal status.

Molecular systematics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

approaches so far give an ambiguous answer. Some analyses suggest the

are more closely related to certain chytrid fungi than to the Entomophthorales. Others find weak support to maintain them in the Entomophthorales. Morphological characters can be found to support either hypothesis. * '' Zygaenobia'' Weiser 1951 * Family

Ancylistaceae The ''Ancylistaceae'' are a family of fungi in the order Entomophthorales. The family currently contains 3 genera: '' Ancylistes'', '' Macrobiotophthora'', '' Conidiobolus''. '' Capillidium'' was added in 2020, it was once thought to be a sub-gen ...

Schröter 1893 ** '' Ancyclistes'' Pfitzer 1872 ** ''

'' Brefeld 1884 emend. Humber 1989 'Conidiobolus'' (''Capillidium'') Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982; ''Conidiobolus'' (''Conidiobolus'') (Brefeld) Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982; ''Conidiobolus'' (''Delacroixia'') (Sacc. & Syd.) Tyrrell & MacLeod 1972] ** ''Macrobiotophthora'' Reukauf 1912 emend. Tucker 1981 * Family Completoriaceae Humber 1989 ** '' Completoria'' Lohde 1874 * Family

Entomophthoraceae Entomophthoraceae is a family of fungi in the order Entomophthorales The Entomophthorales are an order of fungi that were previously classified in the class Zygomycetes. A new subdivision, Entomophthoromycotina, has recently been circumscri ...

Nowakowski 1877 mpusaceae Clem. & Shear 1931** Subfamily Erynioideae Keller 2005 assosporoideae Keller 2005*** '' Erynia'' (Nowakowski ex Batko 1966) Remaud. & Hennebert 1980.emend. Humber 1989 'Zoophthora'' (''Erynia'') Nowakowski ex Batko 1966*** '' Eryniopsis'' Humber 1984 (in part) *** '' Furia'' (Batko 1966) Humber 2005 'Zoophthora'' (''Furia'') Batko 1966; ''Erynia'' (''Furia'') (Batko 1966) Li & Humber 1984*** '' Orthomyces'' Steinkraus, Humber & Oliver 1988 *** '' Pandora'' Humber 2005 'Erynia''_(''Neopandora'')_Ben-Ze’ev_&_Kenneth_1982.html" ;"title="Neopandora.html" ;"title="'Erynia'' (''Neopandora">'Erynia'' (''Neopandora'') Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982">Neopandora.html" ;"title="'Erynia'' (''Neopandora">'Erynia'' (''Neopandora'') Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 1982*** ''Strongwellsea'' Batko & Weiser 1965 emend. Humber 1976 *** ''Zoophthora'' Batko 1964 emend. Ben-Ze’ev & Kenneth 2005 ** Subfamily Entomophthoroideae Keller 2005 *** '' Batkoa'' Humber 2005 *** '' Entomophaga'' Batko 1964 emend. Humber 1989 *** ''

Entomophthora ''Entomophthora'' is a fungal genus in the family Entomophthoraceae. Species in this genus are parasitic on flies and other two-winged insects. The genus was circumscribed by German physician Johann Baptist Georg Wolfgang Fresenius (1808-1866) ...

'' Fresenius 1856 'Empusa'' (''Triplosporium'') Thaxter 1888; ''Triplosporium'' (Thaxter 1888) Batko 1964] *** '' Eryniopsis'' Humber 1984 (in part) *** ''Massospora'' Peck 1879 emend. Soper 1974 * Family

Meristacraceae ''Meristacrum'' is a fungal genus in the monotypic family Meristacraceae, of the order Entomophthorales. They are parasites of soil invertebrates, they typically infect nematodes, and tardigrades.P. F. Cannon and P. M. Kirk (Editors) David J. ...

Humber 1989 ** '' Meristacrum'' Drechsler 1940 emend. Tucker & Humber 1981 ** '' Tabanomyces'' Couch et al.

References

External links

* G. Benny
Entomophthorales
section of Zygomycetes.org * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1257561 Fungus orders