zygomycete

[ zahy-guh-mahy-seet, -mahy-seet, zig-uh- ]

noun

, Mycology.

1. any of a wide variety of common fungi constituting the phylum Zygomycota of the kingdom Fungi (or the class Zygomycetes of the kingdom Plantae), in which sexual reproduction is by the formation of zygospores.

zygomycete

/ ˌzaɪɡəʊˈmaɪsiːt /

noun

1. any filamentous fungus of the phylum Zygomycota (or Zygomycetes ), which reproduces sexually by means of zygospores, including the bread mould

zygomycete

/ zī′gə-mī′sēt′,zĭg′ə- /

1. Any of various fungi belonging to the phylum Zygomycota, characterized by the absence of cross walls (called septa) in all of their hyphae except reproductive hyphae. The absence of septa allows cytoplasm to stream along the hyphae, and most species produce abundant, fast-growing hyphae. Many species of zygomycetes live on decaying plant and animal matter in soil, though some are parasites on plants, insects, and certain soil animals, and a few cause disease in domestic animals and humans. Zygomycetes reproduce both by producing asexual haploid spores in conidia at the end of their hyphae and by producing sexual haploid spores by meiosis after hyphae of different mating types conjugate and their nuclei fuse.

Derived Forms

• ˌzygomyˈcetous, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of zygomycete¹

< New Latin Zygomycetes (1874), variant name of the class; zygo-, -mycete