Thomas Cavalier-Smith

The Ascomycota are a phylum in the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, form the subkingdom Dikarya. Members of Ascomycota are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the ascus (from Ancient Greek ἀσκός (askós) 'sac, wineskin'), a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles,

Chytridiomycetes is a class of fungi. Members are found in soil, fresh water, and saline estuaries. They are first known from the Rhynie chert. It has recently been redefined to exclude the taxa Neocallimastigomycota and Monoblepharidomycetes, which are now a phylum and a sister-class respectively. Chytridiomycetes is the major class of the phylum Chytridiomycota, which contains a number of parasitic species. At least two species in this class are known to infect a number of amphibian species.

Glomeromycota (often referred to as glomeromycetes, as they include only one class, Glomeromycetes) are one of eight currently recognized divisions within the kingdom Fungi, with approximately 230 described species. Members of the Glomeromycota form arbuscular mycorrhizas (AMs) with the thalli of bryophytes and the roots of vascular land plants. Not all species have been shown to form AMs, and one, Geosiphon pyriformis, is known not to do so. Instead, it forms an endocytobiotic association with Nostoc cyanobacteria. The majority of evidence shows that the Glomeromycota are dependent on land

Physodermatacae is a family of chytrid fungi in the order Physodermatales. Species in the family have a parasitic relationship with the host's physoderma. This family is distinctive in that it contains a thick wall around the sporangia to resist against unfavorable conditions. Sporangia releases from a host plant when rotting, dispersal is carried through the air. This family is not to be confused or related to basidiomycetes rusts and smut fungi. This parasite is distributed all across the world in aquatic, semi aquatic wetlands and in some ferns. Physodermatacae breaks into two

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