Mycobiota (
plural noun, no singular) are a group of all the
fungi present in a particular geographic
region (e.g. "the mycobiota of
Ireland") or
habitat type (e.g. "the mycobiota of
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...
").
Human mycobiota
Mycobiota exist on the surface and in the
gastrointestinal system
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...
of humans.
There are as many as sixty-six
genera and 184
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy people. Most of these are in the ''
Candida'' genera.
Though found to be present on the skin and in the gi tract in healthy individuals, the normal resident mycobiota can become pathogenic in those who are immunocompromized. Such multispecies infections lead to higher mortalities. In addition hospital-acquired infections by '' C. albicans'' have become a cause of major health concerns.[ A high mortality rate of 40-60% is associated with systemic infection.] The best-studied of these are '' Candida'' species due to their ability to become pathogenic in immunocompromised
Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that a ...
and even in healthy hosts. Yeasts are also present on the skin, such as '' Malassezia'' species, where they consume oils secreted from the sebaceous glands. ''Pityrosporum (Malassezia) ovale'', which is lipid-dependent and found only on humans. ''P. ovale'' was later divided into two species, ''P. ovale'' and '' P. orbiculare'', but current sources consider these terms to refer to a single species of fungus, with '' M. furfur'' the preferred name.
Other uses
There is a peer reviewed mycological journal title
''Mycobiota''
References
Fungus ecology
Aquatic ecology
Biology terminology
Microbiomes
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