NCERT-NEET-The morphology of the mycelium, mode of spore formation and fruiting bodies form the basis for the division of the kingdom into various classes.

Enter OTP to View Content

Fungal Classes Comparison

Characters	Phycomycetes	Ascomycetes	Basidiomycetes	Deuteromycetes
Habitat	Aquatic habitats, decaying wood in moist and damp places, obligate parasites on plants.	Saprophytic, decomposers, parasitic, coprophilous (growing on dung).	Soil, logs, tree stumps, living plant bodies as parasites (rusts, smuts).	Saprophytes, parasites, decomposers of litter, help in mineral cycling.
Mycelium	Aseptate and coenocytic.	Branched and septate.	Branched and septate.	Septate and branched.
Asexual Reproduction	Zoospores (motile) or aplanospores (non-motile) endogenously in sporangium.	Conidia produced exogenously on conidiophores.	Asexual spores generally not found; vegetative reproduction by fragmentation.	Conidia.
Sexual Reproduction	Zygospore formed by fusion of two gametes (isogamous, anisogamous, or oogamous).	Ascospores produced endogenously in asci, arranged in ascocarps.	Plasmogamy by fusion of somatic cells, forming dikaryotic cells; karyogamy and meiosis in basidium, producing basidiospores exogenously.	No sexual reproduction known.
Common Examples	Mucor, Rhizopus, Albugo.	Penicillium, yeast (Saccharomyces), Aspergillus, Claviceps, Neurospora, morels, truffles.	Agaricus (mushroom), Ustilago (smut), Puccinia (rust fungus).	Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Trichoderma.