Fungus commonly known as sac fungi or ascomycetes, constitute the largest taxonomic group within the Eumycota. These fungi form meiotic spores called ascospores, which are enclosed in a special sac-like structure called an ascus. This phylum includes morels, a few mushrooms and truffles, unicellular yeasts (e.g., of the genera "Saccharomyces", "Kluyveromyces", "Pichia", and "Candida"), and many filamentous fungi living as saprotrophs, parasites, and mutualistic symbionts (e.g. lichens). Prominent and important genera of filamentous ascomycetes include "Aspergillus", "Penicillium", "Fusarium", and "Claviceps". Many ascomycete species have only been observed undergoing asexual reproduction (called anamorphic species), but analysis of molecular data has often been
Chlorophyll fluorescence Chlorophyll fluorescence Chlorophyll fluorescence is light re-emitted by chlorophyll molecules during return from excited to non-excited states. It is used as an indicator of photosynthetic energy conversion in higher plants, algae and bacteria. Excited chlorophyll dissipates the absorbed light energy by driving photosynthesis (photochemical energy conversion), as heat in non-photochemical quenching or by emission as fluorescence radiation. As these processes are complementary processes, the analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence is an important tool in plant research with a wide spectra of applications. Upon illumination of a dark-adapted leaf, there is a rapid rise in fluorescence from Photosystem II (PSII), followed by