| Pseudofungi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Achlya sp. growing on ahemp seed | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Clade: | Gyrista |
| Clade: | Pseudofungi Cavalier-Smith, 1986[1] |
| Groups | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pseudofungi is a grouping ofheterokonts,[2][3] also known as theHeterokontimycotina.[4] It consists of theOomycetes andHyphochytriomycetes.[4] Although numerous biochemical,ultrastructural, and genetic traits clearly place them in the heterokonts, their growth form (featuringhyphae) and mode of nutrition (osmotrophy) resemble those offungi (which are not closely related).[4]
It is believed that pseudofungi descend from unicellular algae among theStramenopiles which lost theirplastids. While evidence of these plastids hasn't been found, what has been proven is the existence ofendosymbioticred algae plastids.[5] From this, a unicellularheterotroph proto-pseudofungi (probably a mushroom parasite) got its fungal genes throughhorizontal gene transfer, which would have led to the development ofconvergent fungal multicellularity,[6] explaining why thecell wall is sometimes made of bothchitin andcellulose. The group's interrelationships are as follows:
| Pseudofungi |
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