The plasmodiophores[1] (also known as plasmophorids[2] or plasmodiophorids[3]) are a group of
obligateendoparasiticprotists belonging to the subphylum
Endomyxa in
Cercozoa.[4] Taxonomically, they are united under a single family Plasmodiophoridae, order Plasmodiophorida, sister to the
phagomyxids.[5]
The plasmodiophores have historically been regarded as
Fungi. The first description of plasmodiophores as a taxonomic group was in 1885 by
Zopf, who united two genera Plasmodiophora and Tetramyxa in a common family “Plasmodiophoreæ”, inside the group “Monadineæ”, as part of the division
Myxomycetes. The family was renamed “Plasmodiophoraceae” in 1888 by
Berlese.[9] In 1892,
Engler placed the family in its own class “Plasmodiophorales”, later renamed “Plasmodiophoromycetes” to fit
nomenclature standards.[10]
In 1969
Whittaker, in his
five-kingdom system, elevated the group to a separate phylum “Plasmodiophoromycota”, acknowledging them as
protists instead of fungi.[1]
In 1993
Cavalier-Smith included the plasmodiophores and their sister group
Phagomyxida in their current class,
Phytomyxea, as part of a
polyphyletic phylum called Opalozoa, which at the time contained a diverse assemblage of unrelated zooflagellates,
opalines and
proteomyxids.[11] Eventually this phylum was discarded, and the name
Opalozoa was modified to label a group inside the phylum
Bigyra containing the
opalines,
bicosoecids and related organisms.[12]
The number of genera varies between sources. There are three accepted genera in the group according to the
WoRMS register: Plasmodiophora, Spongospora and Tetramyxa.[15] Below is a complete list with genera that are not included in the register but appear in relevant sources:[3][16][17]
^
abWhittaker RH (10 January 1969). "New concepts of kingdoms or organisms. Evolutionary relations are better represented by new classifications than by the traditional two kingdoms". Science. 163 (3863): 150–60.
doi:
10.1126/science.163.3863.150.
PMID5762760.
^Irwin, Nicholas A.T.; Tikhonenkov, Denis V.; Hehenberger, Elisabeth; Mylnikov, Alexander P.; Burki, Fabien; Keeling, Patrick J. (2019-01-01). "Phylogenomics supports the monophyly of the Cercozoa". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 130: 416–423.
doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2018.09.004.
ISSN1055-7903.
PMID30318266.
S2CID52982396.
^Braselton JP (2001). "Plasmodiophoromycota". In McLaughlin DJ, McLaughlin EG, Lemke PA (eds.). The Mycota. Vol. VII: Systematics and Evolution Part A. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 81–91.
doi:
10.1007/978-3-662-10376-0_4.
ISBN978-3-662-10376-0.
^Engler A (1903). Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien : eine Übersicht über das gesamte Pflanzensystem mit Berücksichtigung der Medicinal- und Nutzpflanzen nebst einer Übersicht über die Florenreiche und Florengebiete der Erde zum Gebrauch bei Vorlesungen und Studien über specielle und medicinisch-pharmaceutische Botanik (3rd ed.). Berlin: Borntraeger.
doi:
10.5962/bhl.title.22956.
^Cavalier-Smith T (1 March 2002). "The phagotrophic origin of eukaryotes and phylogenetic classification of Protozoa". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 52 (2): 297–354.
doi:
10.1099/00207713-52-2-297.
PMID11931142.
^
abDick, Michael W. (2001). Straminipilous Fungi: Systematics of the Peronosporomycetes Including Accounts of the Marine Straminipilous Protists, the Plasmodiophorids and Similar Organisms (1 ed.). Springer Dordrecht.
doi:
10.1007/978-94-015-9733-3.
ISBN978-94-015-9733-3.
S2CID28755980.