ABSTRACT
Zygomycosis (also referred to as mucormycosis) traditionally refers to an infection caused by fungi in the class Zygomycota and the order Mucorales. Numerous fungi within this order (collectively referred to as the zygomycetes) have been associated with human disease-with Rhizopus species the most common known cause and Mucor species or Absidia species listed as a distant second, dependent on the patient group being affected.1-5 Although zygomycosis has historically been considered a rare disease, an emergence of this infection in immunocompromised individuals has been noted, as technological advances occur in medicine.6,7 The number of cases of disease is probably much higher than that reported due to limitations in diagnostic techniques for zygomycosis and the high mortality associated with this disease, where infection may go unrecognized. The problems in diagnosis makes separation of the species dif–cult, which is evident in the numerous articles available in the literature that review these cases.1,5-12 This chapter will provide information on what is known about the zygomycetes classi–ed within the genus Mucor, with an emphasis on the recent area of fungal molecular diagnostics.
