Oomycota, phylum of funguslike organisms in the kingdom Chromista. Oomycetes may occur as saprotrophs (living on decayed matter) or as parasites living on higher plants and can be aquatic, amphibious, or terrestrial. The species Phytophthora infestans famously destroyed Ireland’s potato crop with late blight and caused the Great Famine of 1845, which resulted in a mass migration of Irish people to the United States. Other economically destructive genera include the water molds (notably Saprolegnia), Aphanomyces (the cause of root rot of peas), Plasmopara (a cause of downy mildews), and Albugo (white rusts).
Unlike true fungi, members of the phylum Oomycota lack chitin in their cell walls and have a life cycle that is dominantly diploid (having two sets of chromosomes). The organisms are distinguished by their production of asexual reproductive cells, called zoospores. Zoospores move through the use of one or two whiplike swimming structures known as flagella, and individuals may germinate from these spores. Mature organisms may also reproduce sexually, with the resulting fertilized eggs being converted into nonmobile spores, or oospores, which then also germinate into mature individuals.