Occurrence and Distribution of Indigenous Isolates of Pythium Species in Northern India

The genus Pythium was erected by Pringsheim in 1858 and placed in the family Saprolegniaceae. By the end of 19th century taxonomic details of the genus had been clarified and many new species had been described. The relationship with other Oomycetes was established and the genus was included in a new family, Pythiaceae, by Schroter in 1897. The fungus Pythium belongs to the subdivision Mastigomycotina, class Oomycetes, order Peronosporales and family Pythiaceae. The genus, its taxonomical position, and relationship to other fungi have remained unchanged since that time. There are almost 307 described Pythium species (www.mycobank.org) which are classified in the Kingdom Straminopila [1]. The genus perception of Pythium is still a continuing debate and there is no harmony on the alternative genera [2,3,4]. Several other researchers made an attempt to work on Pythium spp. into other genera based on the sporangial shapes [5].