Question

To which genus Ray fungi belongs?

Answer 1

Hint: Ray fungi are a group of gram-positive bacteria that are known for their pathogenic nature in human beings and other mammals. They show certain similarities to fungi and hence the name.

Complete answer:
Ray fungi belong to the genus Actinomycetes which is a group of bacteria known as actinobacteria. These are gram-positive bacteria with an anaerobic mode of respiration that characterizes them. They are profoundly known as Ray fungi because of their colonies that form a fungus-like branched network of hyphae. Therefore, initially, they were assumed to be fungus and had the name Actinomyces or ray fungus.
Some features of Actinomyces are listed below-
-These are microbiota of animals including human beings and occur mostly in the soil.
-They play an important role in soil ecology as they are producers of many enzymes that are responsible for the degradation of organic material, lignin, and chitin, and this way they help in the formation of compost.
-Although they are an important part of the soil, they cause certain diseases in human beings and life stocks. They gain access to the body through wounds and cause infection in the mouth, lungs, or gastrointestinal tract.
-These bacteria are fastidious and not easy to culture and isolate, and therefore a negative result in isolation does not remove the infection.
So, the correct answer is "Actinomycetes".

Note:
The Actinomycetes cause infection in the oral cavity of humans and other mammals but in rare cases, they can even infect the mouth, lungs, or gastrointestinal tract and cause a disease known as actinomycosis. In this disease, abscesses are formed in the infected areas and it is identified by the chronic progression of disease across tissue planes, sinus tract development, and refractory infection after a certain course of antibiotics in a patient.