Chytridiomycota

Chytridiomycota is a phylum of fungi whose members typically produce motile, flagellated spores. Many live in aquatic or otherwise moist environments.

Zoospore: A motile asexual spore that moves through water using one or more flagella. Chytrid zoospores use a single posterior flagellum to reach suitable hosts or substrates.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: A chytrid fungus that causes amphibian chytridiomycosis and has contributed to population declines worldwide. This species is the best-known example of a chytrid pathogen with major conservation consequences.
Fungi: A kingdom of eukaryotes that obtain nutrients by absorption and typically grow as filaments or single cells. Chytridiomycota is one lineage within the fungal kingdom.
Zygomycota: A former fungal classification grouping that included diverse molds, now divided among several lineages. Unlike typical chytrids, organisms historically placed here lack motile flagellated spores.
Chytrid sporangium: A reproductive structure in chytrid fungi where zoospores develop and are released. It produces the motile spores that distinguish the phylum's characteristic life cycle.
Chytridiomycosis: A disease of amphibians caused by infection with chytrid fungi, especially Batrachochytrium species. It demonstrates how a member of the phylum can disrupt amphibian skin function and threaten populations.
Opisthokonta: A major eukaryotic group that includes animals, fungi, and their unicellular relatives. Fungi, including chytrids, belong to this evolutionary grouping.
Ascomycota: A major fungal phylum whose sexual spores form inside saclike structures called asci. Its typical reproductive structures contrast with chytrid zoospores and sporangia.
Rhizoid: A fine, rootlike fungal structure that anchors a thallus and may absorb nutrients. Many chytrids use rhizoids to attach to food or host surfaces and obtain nutrients.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans: A chytrid fungus that causes severe skin disease in salamanders and newts. This pathogen illustrates the phylum's capacity to cause disease beyond frogs.

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