Species ofConidiobolusandBasidiobolus,whose
natural habit appears to be saprobic in plant
detritus and soil, also have a worldwide distribu-
tion. A small number ofConidiobolusspp. are
known only as entomopathogens, but most are
saprobes.Conidiobolus thromboidesDrechsler
may be found in China and India as a soil sap-
robe, but the species is a significant pathogen of
a fairly broad range of insects (Latge ́et al. 1980 ),
andConidiobolus coronatus(Costantin) Batko is
a common saprobe, a weak but widely known
entomopathogen, and, especially in the tropics,
may cause mycoses of humans or other mam-
mals (Sect.IIIC).
Thermophilic or thermotolerant zygomy-
cetes are mostly restricted to Mucorales inRhi-
zomucorsensu Schipper ( 1978 ),Thermomucor
(Schipper 1979 ),Lichtheimia(Hoffmann 2010 ),
and a few species of several other genera.Cal-
carisporiella, a genus of unknown affinities in
Mucoromycotina, is thermotolerant (Hirose
et al. 2012 ). Psychrophilic or psychrotolerant
zygomycetes can be found in the generaChae-
tocladium,Dicranophora,Dissophora,Helicos-
tylum, andSpinellusand other taxa including
species of Mortierella, Mucor,Thamnidium,
and Zygorhynchus. Schmidt et al. ( 2008 )
isolatedMucor mucedoFresen.,Helicostylum
elegans Corda,Mortierella spp., and several
unidentified members of Mortierellales and
Mucorales from a subalpine forest in Colorado,
USA, andPirella circinansBainier was reported
on a beetle collected on a subantarctic island
(Bridge et al. 2008 ).
III. Economic Importance and Biology
A. Food
Members of Mucorales are used to make food
in Asia (Benny 2012 ) and can cause food spoil-
age.Thamnidium elegansLink andHelicosty-
lum pulchrum(Preuss) Pidopl. & Milko can
grow on cut meat stored in walk-in refrigera-
tors. This so-called whiskery beef imparts a
desirable flavor, and these fungi are intention-
ally inoculated (Benny 2012 ).
B. Plant Pathogens (ChoanephoraFruit Rot)
and Storage RotsFruit storage rots are caused by a few species
of Mucorales, including Rhizopus stolonifer
(Ehrenb.: Fr.) Vuill. (e.g., strawberries, sweet
potatoes, peanut seedlings), which may be
more or less cosmopolitan.Gilbertella persi-
caria(E.D. Eddy) Hesselt. can cause storage
rots of nectarines, peaches, and tomatoes in
California, the southeastern USA, India, and
China; storage rot of dragon fruit [Hylocereus
costaricensis(F.A.C. Weber) Britt. & Rose; Cac-
taceae] in China; andGilbertellastem rot of
pithya [Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britt. &
Rose; Cactaceae] in Okinawa, Japan (Guo et al.
2012 ; Taba et al. 2011 ). Mucor piriformisA.
Fisch. is the agent of pear rots, even in orch-
ards, in the USA (California, Oregon, Washing-
ton) and Chile (Michailides 1991 ; Michaelides
and Spotts 1990 ). Cold storage retards the
growth ofR. stoloniferandG. persicariaand is
the best method to inhibit the growth of these
fungi.M. piriformis, however, grows not only at
20 C but also at refrigerator temperature
(4–7C) and as a result can still damage fruit
during long-term cold storage (Michaelides and
Spotts 1990 ; Ogawa et al. 1992 ).Rhizopus ory-
zaeWent. & Prinsen-Geerlings also can cause a
soft rot of fruits and vegetables, especially in
combination with other fungi (Holliday 1980 ).
BothR. oryzaeandR. stolonifercan causeRhi-
zopushead rot of sunflower (Shtienberg 1997 ).
Choanephora cucurbitarum(Berk. & Rave-
nel) Thaxt. is a pathogen (so-called wet rot or
blossum end rot) of many crop plants,includ-
ing green beans and okra, but commonly affects
Cucurbitaceae, especially yellow summer
squash (Wolf 1917 ). Plant diseases caused by
C. cucurbitarumincludeChoanephorarots or
blights of chili peppers, Egyptian henbane, ice
plant, and other plants (Abdel-Motaal et al.
2010 ; Kagiwada et al. 2010 ; Sinha 1940b).
C. cucurbitarumcan be isolated from soil and
is usually found when it is warm and humid;
this species is common during rainy summers
in the southeastern USA and globally in other
regions with a similar climate. An unidentified
species ofChoanephorawas found on the maleZygomycetous Fungi: Phylum Entomophthoromycota and Subphyla Kickxellomycotina,... 211