Fungi Resemblance
Phytophthora is sometimes referred to as a fungal-like organism but it is classified under a different kingdom altogether: Chromalveolata (formerly Stramenopila and previously Chromista). This is a good example of convergent evolution: Phytophthora is morphologically very similar to true fungi yet its evolutionary history is quite distinct. In contrast to fungi, stramenopiles are more closely related to plants than animals. Whereas fungal cell walls are made primarily of chitin, stramenopile cell walls are constructed mostly of cellulose. Ploidy levels are different between these two groups; Phytophthora have diploid (paired) chromosomes in the vegetative (growing, non-reproductive) stage of life, Fungi are almost always haploid in this state. Biochemical pathways also differ, notably the highly conserved Lysine synthesis path.
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“They are, as it were, train-bearers in the pageant of life, and hold a glass up to humanity, frailer than itself. We see ourselves at second-hand in them: they show us all that we are, all that we wish to be, and all that we dread to be.... What brings the resemblance nearer is, that, as they imitate us, we, in our turn, imitate them.... There is no class of society whom so many persons regard with affection as actors.”
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