Water moulds
| Water molds | |
|---|---|
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| Asexual (A: sporangia, B: zoospores, C: chlamydospores) and sexual (D: oospores) reproductive structures of Phytophthora infestans (Peronosporales) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| (unranked): | SAR |
| Superphylum: | Heterokonta |
| Class: |
Oomycota Arx, 1967 |
| Orders and families | |
| Synonyms | |
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Oomycota or oomycetes (/ˌoʊəˈmaɪsiːts/) form a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms. They are filamentous, microscopic, absorptive organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually. Oomycetes occupy both saprophytic and pathogenic lifestyles, and include some of the most notorious pathogens of plants, causing devastating diseases such as late blight of potato and sudden oak death. One oomycete, the Pythium oligandrum, is used for biocontrol, attacking plant pathogenic fungi. The oomycetes are also often referred to as water molds (or water moulds), although the water-preferring nature which led to that name is not true of most species, which are terrestrial pathogens. The Oomycota have a very sparse fossil record. A possible oomycete has been described from Cretaceous amber.
"Oomycota" means "egg fungi", referring to the large round oogonia, structures containing the female gametes, that are characteristic of the oomycetes.
The name "water mold" refers to their earlier classification as fungi and their preference for conditions of high humidity and running surface water, which is characteristic for the basal taxa of the oomycetes.
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