NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Opisthokonta is a large supergroup of eukaryotes including metazoans and fungi. In addition, the Opisthokonta also includes some flagellate (choanoflagellates), amoeboid (e.g. Nuclearia) and sporozoan (e.g. Ichthyosporea, Microsporidia) protists.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Opisthokonta comprise metazoans (animals), fungi and several additional microbial eukaryote lineages, including the Choanoflagellida, Ichthyosporea, Nucleariidae and Capsaspora. It is likely that the closest extant relative of both fungi and metazoans is a member of the Opisthokonta.

Detailed explanation-3: -The supergroup ‘Opisthokonta’ includes animals, fungi, and their microbial relatives, and is supported by many molecular genealogies [10]. The ‘Opisthokonta’ is united by the presence of a single posterior flagellum in many constituent lineages [22].

Detailed explanation-4: -The opisthokonts, or “fungi/metazoa group”, are a broad group of eukaryotes, including both the animal and fungus kingdoms, together with the eukaryotic microorganisms that are sometimes grouped in the paraphyletic phylum choanozoa (previously assigned to the protist “kingdom”).

Detailed explanation-5: -Opisthokont characteristics include synthesis of extracellular chitin in exoskeleton, cyst/spore wall, or cell wall of filamentous growth and hyphae; the extracellular digestion of substrates with osmotrophic absorption of nutrients; and other cell biosynthetic and metabolic pathways.