A group of fungi (also called Mitosporic fungi or Imperfect fungi) that reproduce primarily through asexual spores rather than through sexual reproduction.
From deutero- (second) + -mycetes (from Greek 'mykes' meaning 'fungus'). Scientists called them 'deutero' or 'imperfect' fungi because they only reproduce sexually, lacking the 'perfect' stage found in other fungi.
For decades, scientists put these fungi in a separate group because they seemed to only reproduce asexually, but DNA testing later revealed many were actually relatives of well-known fungi that just happened to 'forget' their sexual stage!
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