Zygomycetes is the class under the phylum Zygomycota. Zygomycota is the most primitive terrestrial fungi. The species in this phylum has some special characteristics. Such as these reproduce asexually and have coenocytic mycelium and asexual spores for this purpose. Other detailed characteristics are discussed below.

Characteristics Of Zygomycetes:
The characters of the class Zygomycetes are very much similar to the characters of the division or phylum Zygomycota. These are:

• These are found mostly on the bread mold Rhizopus stolonifera, is the example of this class of Zygomycetes.
• Coenocytic mycelium
• Asexual reproduction takes place using spores which are present in the sporangia which are borne on the stalks called sporangiosphores.
• Cell wall is made up of chitin
• These are generally terrestrial fungi so the flagellated gametes and spores are absent normally.
• Sexual reproduction takes place when the matting of undifferentiated isogametangia or anisogametangia form a zygote.

Reproduction In Zygomycetes:

A common example of Zygomycetes is black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifera). This fungi spreads on the surface of the bread and other substances with the help of a hyphae. These hyphae moves inside the bread and absorbs nutrition from it. These normally reproduce with the asexual form of reproduction in which sporangia are formed from the hyphae and stand upright on it. These sporangias have spores in them. Reproduction takes place when the haploid hyphae of different mating types comes in close proximity with each other.

Once matting takes place they result in the formation of gametangia. This gametangia enables the fusion of the cytoplasm which results in diploid zygosporangia. This zygosporangia develops a thick wall around itself and protects itself from the adverse environmental conditions. When these get suitable conditions they give rise to the new sporangium.