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,
Parasites in fiction but not others. Parasites, represented as extraterrestrial aliens or unnatural beings, are seen in science fiction as distasteful, in contrast to (mutualistic) symbiosis, and sometimes horrible. Practical uses can be made of them, but humans who do so may be destroyed by them. For example, Mira Grant's 2013 novel "Parasite" envisages a world where people's immune systems are maintained by genetically engineered tapeworms. They form readily understood characters, since, as Gary Westfahl explains, parasites need to exploit their hosts to survive and reproduce. The social anthropologist Marika Moisseeff argues that Hollywood science fiction favours insects as villain characters because of