Division Myxomycota (Slime Molds)

Very unusual fungi characterized by a multinucleate mass (blob) of protoplasm that moves in amoeboid fashion on wet logs and the forest floor; at a certain phase in its life cycle the plasmodium forms spore-bearing fruiting bodies; on several occasions, slime molds grown by Dr. George Zabka in the Palomar College botany lab have actually crawled out of their culture dish.
Division Oomycota (Water Molds)

Nonseptate, coenocytic hyphae with sexual phase quite different from black bread mold (Zygomycota); forming cottony filaments on various substrates in water, including the gills of unfortunate fish; major nuisance when cultivating duckweeds in containers of water.

Division Zygomycota (Coenocytic Fungi)

Coenocytic hyphae composed of multinucleate, nonseptate filaments; produces stalked sporangia which are very conspicuous in the ubiquitous black bread mold (Rhizopus nigricans).

Division Eumycota (Septate Fungi)

A. Class Ascomycetes (Cup Fungi)

Spores produced in a sac-like structure called an ascus; includes cup fungi, yeast, leaf-curl fungi and truffles; also includes many lichenized fungi called lichens.

B. Class Basidiomycetes (Club Fungi)

Spores produced on a club-shaped structure called a basidium; includes smut fungi, mushrooms, toadstools, puffballs and bracket fungi; some species contain toxic and hallucinogenic alkaloids; the mycelia of many species form an intricate symbiotic, mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of forest trees.

C. Class Deuteromycetes (Imperfect Fungi)

This class contains fungal species in which the sexual cycle is not fully understood; therefore, it is difficult to place them in a definite fungal class; many unusual and interesting species, including parasitic and carnivorous fungi, and the amazing subterranean fungus gardens that leaf-cutter ants feed upon.

The Amazing Lichens

This group includes fungi containing symbiotic algal cells (usually Division Chlorophyta) and/or cyanobacteria (Division Cyanophyta). Since they are essentially lichenized fungi containing symbiotic algal or cyanobacteria cells, they are best treated within the fungal classes Ascomycetes and Basiodiomycetes. By far the greatest number of lichen species belong to orders and families within the Ascomycetes.

Economically Important Fungi

Many species in the Kingdom Fungi are very important to people. In addition to all the delectable mushrooms, truffles and morels, there are some economically important fungi that have played a major role in the treatment of diseases. The antibiotic penicillin was discovered by the British scientist Sir Alexander Fleming in 1929. He noticed that certain bacteria would not grow in the vicinity of cultures of Penicillium mold. The discovery and eventual isolation of the drug penicillin from this common blue mold has led to the treatment of many human diseases and has saved countless lives. Penicillium molds (including P. roqueforti and P. camemberti) are also used to produce "smelly" cheeses, such as the blue, Roquefort and Camembert cheeses on your salads and spaghetti.

Aspergillus is another genus of mold that is closely related to Penicillium. Both economically important genera belong to the widely distributed family Aspergillaceae (also listed as Eurotiaceae in some references). This family is often placed in the Ascomycetes, although many authors place them in the Deuteromycetes because their complete sexual cycle is not known. Species of Aspergillus mold produce gallic acid used in photographic developers, dyes, and indelible black ink. [Gallic acid was originally extracted from oak galls.] Other species produce artificial flavorings, perfumes, chlorine and alcohols, and are used in the manufacture of plastics, toothpaste and soap. One interesting species of Aspergillus oryzae is used to make soy sauce by fermenting soybeans with the fungus. It is also used in the fermentation of rice to make sake. A Japanese food paste called "miso" is made by fermenting soybeans, salt and rice with the same mold. Miso is used in a number of Japanese dishes, including miso soup. According to K.R. Stern (Plant Biology, Fifth Edition, 1991), more than one-half million tons of miso are consumed annually.

Miso: Fermented soybean paste used in Japanese miso soup.

Another very important family of fungi is the Saccharomycetaceae which includes nutritional food yeast (Kluyveromyces marxianus), beer, wine and bread yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and sherry yeast (Torulaspora delbrueckii). These microscopic fungi play a major role in the beer, wine and baking industries. In the brewery, ethyl alcohol (ethanol) from the fermentation process is the primary industrial product; in the bakery, carbon dioxide released from the fermentation process causes the dough to rise.

Information provided by: http://waynesword.palomar.edu