Asexual Sporulation in Higher Fungi

Abstract

The characteristic asexual spore in higher fungi is the conidium. Conidia are classically defined as specialized, non-motile, asexual propagules that are usually formed from the side or tip of a sporogenous cell and do not develop by progressive cytoplasmic cleavage (CR7 and CR7, 1979). For members of the subdivision Deuteromycotina, or Fungi Imperfecti, conidiation represents the primary means of reproduction, and for taxonomists, the main characteristic for classification. The Deuteromycetes are generally considered to be anamorphs of the other conidial fungi (Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes) that have permanently lost their sexual stage or teleomorph (CR26, 1986).