Neocallimastigomycota

Neocallimastigomycota is a phylum of anaerobic fungi found mainly in herbivore digestive tracts. Its members produce enzymes that help decompose tough plant material.

Cellulosome: A multi-enzyme complex that breaks down cellulose and other plant cell-wall polysaccharides. Neocallimastigomycota deploy cellulosomes to attack plant fibers efficiently.
Fungi: A kingdom of eukaryotic organisms that absorb nutrients from organic matter and typically have chitin-containing cell walls. Neocallimastigomycota is a deeply distinctive lineage within the fungal kingdom.
Ruminant nutrition: The study and practice of meeting the dietary needs of animals that ferment feed in a rumen. Fungal fiber breakdown can affect how much energy ruminants obtain from forage.
Neocallimastix: A genus of anaerobic fungi found in the digestive tracts of herbivores. It is a familiar genus within Neocallimastigomycota and includes early described members.
Plant cell wall: A structural layer around plant cells, composed chiefly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Its resistant polymers are the main substrates these fungi help digest.
Chytridiomycota: A phylum of fungi that includes many aquatic or soil-dwelling species with motile zoospores. Its members share motile reproductive cells, though Neocallimastigomycota is classified separately.
Lignocellulose: The plant-biomass complex formed chiefly by cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These fungi are studied for accessing the cellulose and hemicellulose embedded in lignocellulose.
Anaerobic fungi: Fungi adapted to grow and reproduce in environments lacking oxygen. Neocallimastigomycota comprises the recognized lineage of anaerobic gut fungi.
Hydrogenosome: An organelle that generates energy under anaerobic conditions and releases hydrogen in many eukaryotes. These fungi use hydrogenosomes in energy metabolism without oxygen.
Anaerobic digestion: The microbial breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing gases and simpler compounds. The digestive environment inhabited by these fungi is a natural anaerobic-digestion system.

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