ABSTRACT
The phylum Oomycota (oomycetes) encompasses an incredibly diverse group of organisms that were for many years considered to be fungi or at least were always included in the study of the fungi. Most mycologists and other biologists recognized that the oomycetes, although being achlorophyllous and having mycelium-like colonies, were somewhat different and did not fit the conventional and prevailing concept of true fungi. The oomycetes have been variously categorized into different kingdoms and other groups in the past and some confusion in their taxonomic status still exists today. For the purposes of this chapter, we will follow Alexopoulus et al. (1996) and place them in the kingdom Stramenopila.
