Rhizopus Rhizopus Rhizopus is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found on a wide variety of organic substrates, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and tobacco. They are multicellular. Some "Rhizopus" species are opportunistic agents of human zygomycosis (fungal infection) and can be fatal. "Rhizopus" infections may also be a complication of diabetic ketoacidosis. This widespread genus includes at least eight species. "Rhizopus" species grow as filamentous, branching hyphae that generally lack cross-walls (i.e., they are coenocytic). They reproduce by forming asexual and sexual spores. In asexual reproduction,
Conservation biology of parasites only the loss of certain host species from the wild, but host population bottlenecks or the fragmentation of host populations would predictably lead to the extinction of host-specific parasites. The paper also noted that parasites exert selective pressures upon their host populations that increase host genetic diversity. At first, this view met with open scepticism. However, it became clear that the co-extinction of hosts and their specific parasites is likely to increase the current estimates of extinction rates significantly. A decade later, a study focusing on highly host-specific groups such as fig wasps, parasites, butterflies, and myrmecophil butterflies estimated the