This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Chytrid is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Chytridiomycota Fossil range: Devonian - Recent |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Scientific classification | ||||
|
||||
| Type species | ||||
| Chytridium spp. A. Braun, 1851 |
||||
| Classes | ||||
Chytridiomycota is a division of the Fungi kingdom. The name refers to the chytridium (from the Greek chytridion, meaning "little pot"): the structure containing unreleased spores. In older classifications, chytrids (except the recently established order Spizellomycetales) were placed in the Class Phycomycetes under the subdivision Myxomycophyta of the Kingdom Fungi. Also, in an older and more restricted sense (not used here), the term "chytrids" referred just to those fungi in the order Chytridiales.
Contents |
Description
The chytrids are the most primitive of the fungi and are mostly saprobic (degrading chitin and keratin). Many chytrids are aquatic (mostly found in fresh water). There are approximately 1,000 chytrid species, in 127 genera, distributed among 5 orders.
Both zoospores and gametes of the chytrids are mobile by their flagella, one whiplash per individual. The thalli are coenocytic and usually form no true mycelium (having rhizoids instead). Some species are unicellular. Like other fungi, the cell wall in chytrids is composed of chitin.
Disease of Amphibians
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. () |
Discolored skin, be sloughing (The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or amphibian2),or peeling the outside layers of its skin. This can vary from obvious peeling of skin (particularly on the feet), to a roughness of the frog's skin that you can barely see, sit out in the open, not protecting itself by hiding, be sluggish, and have no appetite, have its legs spread slightly away from itself, rather than keeping them tucked close to its body. In more extreme cases, the frog's body will be rigid, and its back legs will trail behind it. 3
Treatment for Frogs
|
|
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. () |
Despite rumors of Chloramphenicol as a possible cure for this fatal frog disease, repeated trials have unfortunately shown the compound to be no more effective at conferring resistance than previously-known antifungal agents. 4
As a parasite
Some chytrid species are known to kill amphibians in large numbers. The actual process, however, is unknown. The infection is referred to as chytridiomycosis. Decline in frog populations led to the discovery of chytridomycosis in 1998 in Australia and Panama. Chytrids may also infect plant species; in particular, maize-attacking and alfalfa-attacking species have been described. Synchytrium endobioticum is an important potato pathogen.
The earliest fossils of chytrids are from the Scottish Rhynie chert, a Devonian-age locality with anatomical preservation of plants and fungi. Among the microfossils are chytrids preserved as parasites on rhyniophytes. These fossils closely resemble the genus Allomyces.5
References
- ^ Hibbett, D.S., et al. (March 2007). "A higher level phylogenetic classification of the Fungi". Mycol. Res. 111 (5): 509–547. doi:.
- ^ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sloughing
- ^ http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/plantsanimals/FrogChytridFungus.htm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7067613.stm
- ^ Taylor, T.N.; W. Remy, & H. Hass. (1994). "Allomyces in the Devonian". Nature 367: 601. doi:.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chytridiomycota |
- Chytrid Fungi Online: by the University of Alabama
- Introduction to the Chytridiomycota: at the UC Museum of Paleontology
- Impact of chytrid fungus on frogs (Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife)
- 'Amphibian Ark' aims to save frogs from fungus
- The Aquarium Wiki Encyclopaedia on Chytrid Fungus and how it impacts amphibians kept as domestic pets.
|
|||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 5 December 2008, at 16:04.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Chytrid".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.