Medical mycology

Zygomycetes in Human Disease

“…Fungi do not have chloroplasts and do not produce chlorophyll. These organisms are delineated within the eukaryotes by their lack of flagella (nonmotile), the development of spores during asexual reproduction, and their predominantly aerobic growth requirements (251,391,503). The fungi produce an ergosterol-rich cell membrane and a cell wall composed of a mixture of polysaccharides including chitin, glucan, and glycoproteins.…”

“…The fungi produce an ergosterol-rich cell membrane and a cell wall composed of a mixture of polysaccharides including chitin, glucan, and glycoproteins. The cell wall is similar but not identical for each fungus, allowing variations in the cell wall composition to be used to differentiate one fungus form another (11,251,391).…”

“…A variety of other yeast and filamentous human pathogens and nonpathogens also fall into this category. The third phylum, Zygomycota, is composed of fungi that form coenocytic hyphae and reproduce sexually by the production of zygospores (251,253,392,503). Further details about the Zygomycota are presented below.…”

“…This phylum is divided into two classes, the Trichomycetes, which are obligate symbionts of arthropods and contain no human pathogens (11), and the Zygomycetes, the class containing the human pathogens. This class is subdivided into two orders, which contain the agents of human zygomycosis, the Mucorales and Entomophthorales (251) (Fig. 1).…”

“…Most of the recent texts on mycology adhere to the traditional taxonomic scheme in Fig. 1 (251,446), with only a very few authors supporting the suggested reclassification scheme (11). The reader is alerted to the possibility that this reclassification may become the accepted nomenclature in time, particularly with better dissemination of its proposal.…”