A class of the * Myxomycota containing fungi that are obligate parasites in the cells of other plants, in which they often induce hypertrophy. It contains about 35 species in some 10 genera. Two serious parasites of crop plants are Plasmodiophora brassicae, which causes clubroot in brassicas, and Spongospora subterranea, which causes powdery or corky scab in potatoes. These fungi are often classified as an order (Plasmodiophorales) of the Myxomycetes, or are sometimes classified with the * Mastigomycotina. |
