Cell wall for higher growth rates in diatoms. In brown algae, phlorotannins may be a constituent of the cell walls. The group Oomycetes, also known as water molds, are saprotrophic plant pathogens like fungi. Until recently they were widely believed to be fungi, but structural and molecular evidence has led to their reclassification as heterokonts, related to autotrophic brown algae and diatoms. Unlike fungi, oomycetes typically possess cell walls of cellulose and glucans rather than chitin, although some genera (such as "Achlya" and "Saprolegnia") do have chitin in their walls. The fraction of cellulose in the walls is no more than 4
Cell wall to 20%, far less than the fraction of glucans. Oomycete cell walls also contain the amino acid hydroxyproline, which is not found in fungal cell walls. The dictyostelids are another group formerly classified among the fungi. They are slime molds that feed as unicellular amoebae, but aggregate into a reproductive stalk and sporangium under certain conditions. Cells of the reproductive stalk, as well as the spores formed at the apex, possess a cellulose wall. The spore wall has three layers, the middle one composed primarily of cellulose, while the innermost is sensitive to cellulase and pronase. Around the outside of