Phycomycetes: Structure & Reproduction — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2024Members of phycomycetes are found in aquatic habitats and on decaying wood in moist and damp places or as obligate parasites on plants. The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic. Asexual reproduction takes place by zoospores (motile) or by aplanospores (non-motile). These spores are endogenously produced in sporangium. A zygospore is formed by fusion of two gametes. These gametes are similar in morphology (isogamous) or dissimilar (anisogamous or oogamous). Some common examples are Mucor, Rhizopus (the bread mould mentioned earlier) and Albugo (the parasitic fungi on mustard).
Phycomycetes are aquatic or parasitic fungi with aseptate, coenocytic mycelium that reproduce asexually via zoospores (motile) or aplanospores (non-motile) in sporangia, and sexually via zygospores. Students confuse zoospores with aplanospores—remember zoospores are flagellated and swim, while aplanospores are non-motile. Another trap: mixing up isogamous (similar gametes) with oogamous (one large ovum, one small sperm). Know that Rhizopus is the bread mould, Mucor grows on food, and Albugo parasitizes mustard. NTA tests this to verify your understanding of fungal diversity, reproduction mechanisms, and ability to distinguish between spore types—critical for scoring well in classification chapters.
Match List I with List II: List I A. Rhizopus B. Ustilago C. Puccinia D. Agaricus List II I. Mushroom II. Smut fungus III. Bread mould IV. Rust fungus NEET 2024
Through deep analysis of NEET and NTA, 88 of 90 questions from the NEET 2026 paper were matched straight from the MedicNEET Biology question bank.
88/90MedicNEET's Biology question bank is built from the same NCERT lines NTA picks repeatedly. Not random MCQs — questions crafted exactly like NTA crafts them.