Mucoromycotina

Mucoromycotina is a subphylum of uncertain placement in Fungi. It was considered part of the phylum Zygomycota, but recent phylogenetic studies have shown that it was polyphyletic and thus split into several groups, it is now thought to be a paraphyletic grouping. Mucoromycotina is currently composed of 3 orders, 61 genera, and 325 species. Some common characteristics seen throughout the species include: development of coenocytic mycelium, saprotrophic lifestyles, and filamentous. Zygomycete fungi were originally only ascribed to the phylum Zygomycota. Such classifications were based on physiological characteristics with little genetic support. A genetic study of Zygomycete fungi performed in 2016 showed that further classification of the group was possible, thus splitting it into Zoopagomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Kickxellomycotina, and Mucoromycotina. The study put these groups as being sister to Dikarya, but without further research, their exact locations in Fungi remain unknown. Many of the questions regarding these groups stem from the difficulty of collecting and growing them in culture, so the current groupings are based on the few that have been successfully collected and which could undergo genomic testing with a certain level of accuracy. The exact placement of Mucoromycotina is currently unknown.  It currently resides in the subphyla incertae sedis, alongside Zoopagomycota, Entomophthoromycota, and Kickxellomycotina, whose’ placements are also currently unknown.  These groups originally comprised Zygomycota alongside others that were assigned to Glomeromycota, which was elevated to phylum in 2001.  These groups are sister to Dikarya, which contains Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.