Mucoromycotina

Mucoromycotina is a subphylum of fungi that includes the orders Mucorales, Mortierellales, and Endogonales. Its members occupy diverse ecological roles, including decomposition, symbiosis, and disease.

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Mucorales: An order of fungi that includes many fast-growing molds, including bread molds and species used in food fermentation. This is the best-known order within Mucoromycotina.
Tempeh: A fermented food made by binding cooked soybeans into a cake, typically using Rhizopus fungi. A Mucorales fungus drives the fermentation that makes traditional tempeh.
Fungi: A kingdom of eukaryotic organisms that absorb nutrients and includes yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. Mucoromycotina is one lineage within the fungal kingdom.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms using shared ancestry and evidence such as DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analyses helped distinguish Mucoromycotina from older, broader fungal groupings.
Mortierellales: An order of soil fungi, many of which grow as saprotrophs and produce distinctive fatty acids. This order represents soil-dwelling members of the subphylum.
Mucormycosis: A rare, often severe fungal infection caused by fungi in the order Mucorales. This infection is a serious consequence of exposure to certain Mucorales.
Mucoromycota: A fungal phylum that includes Mucoromycotina and other groups of early-diverging fungi. This broader classification contains the subphylum in many modern treatments.
Fungal taxonomy: The classification and naming of fungi according to their characteristics and evolutionary relationships. Changes in fungal classification explain why the subphylum's boundaries differ across references.
Endogonales: An order of fungi that includes soil-dwelling species and fungi that form associations with plant roots. Its members add root-associated fungi to the subphylum's range of lifestyles.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza: A symbiosis in which fungi colonize plant roots and exchange soil nutrients for plant carbon. Some Mucoromycotina form root partnerships that resemble this better-known symbiosis.