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Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds (or molds). Most hyphomycetes are now mainly assigned to the Ascomycota, on the basis of genetic connections made by life-cycle studies or by phylogenetic analysis of ; somemany remain unassigned phylogenetically. There are also some basidiomycete species, with aquatic presence noted in certain Corticiaceae and Pucciniomycetes.
Although no longer considered a phylogenetically defined taxon, the prevalence of hyphomycete forms in nature, the built environment, and laboratories means that identification of members this group remains of practical importance.
For species growing in culture, or in environmental DNA studies, most identifications of Hyphomycetes are now done with DNA barcoding. This is not always possible, however, for archival specimens or samples such as microscopic slides from air samples.
Coprophilous or dung-loving hyphomycetes are part of the succession of fungi occurring on many kinds of herbivore faeces, playing an important role in breaking down cellulose. Several species are found only on dung, such as Angulimaya sundara, Onychophora coprophila, Pulchromyces fimicola, Sphondylocephalum verticillatum and Stilbella fimetaria.
Entomogenous, entomopathogenic or insect-pathogenic hyphomycetes infect and kill insects (and spiders) and are especially diverse in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Asia. Most are asexual states of or phylogenetically related to the Ascomycota families, Cordycipitaceae and Ophiocordycipitaceae. Insect hosts are infected by Spore, which germinate and grow to fill the host body with mycelium, or hyphal bodies, and then produce sporulating structures on the insect carcass. They are often found on dead insects under bark or in soil, but some affect insect behaviour ("zombie fungus"), for example causing infected hosts to climb towards the light, ensuring that air-borne infective spores will be released higher up in the canopy of the forest or meadow. Well-known entomogenous hyphomycetes are classified in Beauveria, Metarhizium and Tolypocladium; famous anamorphic genus names such as Akanthomyces, Gibellula, Hirsutella, Hymenostilbe and Isaria are now subsumed in genera formerly considered sexual, such as Cordyceps, Ophiocordyceps and Torubiella under fungal single-name nomenclature. Species of Beauveria and Metarhizium show some promise as biological control agents against pest insects. Tolypocladium inflatum was the original source of cyclosporine A, used as a drug to prevent rejection of .
Many food-borne fungi are also hyphomycetes. Species of Penicillium and Aspergillus are particularly common agents of food spoilage and also produce important that affect human health. Some species, such as Penicillium digitatum on citrus fruits, and Penicillium expansum on apples, are common on specific foods, while others are less specialized and grow on many different kinds of food.
Nematophagous or nematode-trapping hyphomycetes either live their life-cycles in the bodies of dead or trap and kill nematodes in order to supplement their nitrogen requirements. Species of the hyphomycete genus Arthrobotrys, phylogenetically related to - or being the asexual forms of Orbilia - produce constricting loops that quickly shut to grab nematodes, or non-constricting loops or hyphal networks that entangle nematodes, or sticky knobs that adhere to nematodes as they swim by. Attempts to exploit these fungi as biological control agents against agriculturally harmful nematodes have generally been unsuccessful.
See also
Literature
(2025). 9789070351854, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre. ISBN 9789070351854
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