Name: Cryptomycota, means hidden fungi; Rozellida;
Rozellomycota.
Mycology: micro-organisms that are either fungi or a sister group to fungi; they lack chitinous cell walls at all times, but chitin has been observed in the inner layer of resting spores and in immature resting spores for some species of Rozella; unconventional feeding habits; most species are parasites of
Oomycota,
Chytridiomycota, and Blastocladiomycota.
Rozella itersoniliae is a parasite of the basidiomycete Itersonilia perplexans.
Rozella coleochatis parasitizes a species of the green alga Coleochaete.
HistoryRozellida were first detected as DNA sequences retrieved from a fresh water laboratory enclosure.
The only formally described genus in the clade is Rozella, which was previously considered a chytrid. The existence of related organisms was known from environmental DNA sequences. The common characteristic of
Rozellomycota is that they lack the chitinous cell walls present in almost all previously discovered fungi, a major feature. Without the chitin the cryptomycota can be phagotrophic parasites that feed by attaching to, engulfing, or living inside other cells. Most known fungi feed by osmotrophy, taking in nutrients from outside the cell.
Subclass: RozellomycetesOrder: Rozellidales
Family: Rozellaceae
Genera: Nucleophaga, Paramicrosporidium, Rozella