ABSTRACT
The genus Lichtheimia belongs to the order Mucorales within the subphylum Mucoromycotina (former part of the phylum Zygomycota) and comprises ve species, namely, Lichtheimia corymbifera, Lichtheimia ramosa, Lichtheimia ornata, Lichtheimia hyalospora, and Lichtheimia sphaerocystis [1]. Together with the genus Dichotomocladium, Lichtheimia forms the family Lichtheimiaceae, which represents one of the most basal mucoralean families. L. corymbifera was originally described by Cohn in 1884 as Mucor corymbifer and was the rst agent found to be involved in mucormycosis [2,3]. For a long time Lichtheimia species were placed within the genus Absidia because of its morphological similarities (pyriform sporangia with a funnel-shaped apophysis, branched sporangiophores originating from stolons) [4]. Yet physiological, morphological, and phylogenetic data have led to a wide acceptance of the polyphyly of Absidia [5-7]. The currently accepted classication of Absidia-like taxa comprises three different genera: (1) Absidia s.str. (syn. Tieghemella, Proabsidia), (2) Lichtheimia (syn. Mycocladus, Pseudoabsidia, Protoabsidia), and (3) Lentamyces. For a detailed chronological change of names and discussion, see Hoffmann [8], or about Lichtheimia, see Table 22.1 for a brief summary. The main features to distinguish Lichtheimia species from other Absidia-like species are as follows: (1) Lichtheimia spp. possess a higher optimal growth temperature at or above 37°C, while Absidia species are mesophilic with
22.1 Systematics ........................................................................................................................... 355 22.2 Morphology .......................................................................................................................... 356 22.3 Biology .................................................................................................................................. 359 22.4 Lichtheimia Species in Food Production and Agriculture ...................................................360
