Morphology and multigene phylogeny reveal three new species of Samsoniella (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) from spiders in China.

The genus Samsoniella was erected based on orange cylindrical to clavate stromata, superficial perithecia and conidiophores with Isaria-like phialides and to segregate them from the Akanthomyces group. In this study, based on morphological features and multigene (SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1 and RPB2) phylogenetic analysis six Samsoniella species parasitizing spiders were collected in China. Three of them belong to known species S.alpina, S.erucae and S.hepiali. Three new species S.anhuiensissp. nov., S.araneasp. nov. and S.fusiformisporasp. nov. are illustrated and described. They are clearly distinct from other species in Samsoniella occurring in independent subclades. Furthermore, among the four insect-pathogenic fungi specimens collected from similar sites, three of them were identified as the new species described below. Our study significantly broadens the host range of Samsoniella from Insecta to Arachnida, marking a noteworthy expansion in understanding the ecological associations of these fungi. Additionally, the identification of both mononematous and synnematous conidiophores in our study not only expands the knowledge of Samsoniella species but also provides a basis for future research by comparing the ecological significance between these conidiophore types. In conclusion, our study enhances the understanding of Samsoniella diversity, presenting a refined phylogenetic framework and shedding light on the ecological roles of these fungi in spider parasitism.

Review on Research Progress and Prospects of Cicada Flower, Isaria cicadae (Ascomycetes).

Cicada flower, Isaria cicadae Miq., has been a traditional Chinese medicine for approximately 1600 years. Many works on its identification, bioactivities, and clinical use against some disorders have been published, but some inaccuracies and inconsistencies need to be further clarified. In combination with our > 20 years of research and application of cicada flower and examination of the literature and patents published in recent years, this article summarizes and reviews the life cycle and taxonomy, genome size and mating type, molecular systematic classification and cultivation, active ingredients, and pharmacological functions of I. cicadae.

A phylogenetically-based nomenclature for Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales).

The ending of dual nomenclatural systems for pleomorphic fungi in 2011 requires the reconciliation of competing names, ideally linked through culture based or molecular methods. The phylogenetic systematics of Hypocreales and its many genera have received extensive study in the last two decades, however resolution of competing names in Cordycipitaceae has not yet been addressed. Here we present a molecular phylogenetic investigation of Cordycipitaceae that enables identification of competing names in this family, and provides the basis upon which these names can be maintained or suppressed. The taxonomy presented here seeks to harmonize competing names by principles of priority, recognition of monophyletic groups, and the practical usage of affected taxa. In total, we propose maintaining nine generic names, Akanthomyces, Ascopolyporus, Beauveria, Cordyceps, Engyodontium, Gibellula, Hyperdermium, Parengyodontium, and Simplicillium and the rejection of eight generic names, Evlachovaea, Granulomanus, Isaria, Lecanicillium, Microhilum, Phytocordyceps, Synsterigmatocystis, and Torrubiella. Two new generic names, Hevansia and Blackwellomyces, and a new species, Beauveria blattidicola, are described. New combinations are also proposed in the genera Akanthomyces, Beauveria, Blackwellomyces, and Hevansia.

New 1F1N Species Combinations in Ophiocordycipitaceae (Hypocreales).

Based on the taxonomic and nomenclatural recommendations of Quandt et al. (2014) new species combinations are made for Ophiocordycipitaceae. These new combinations are compliant with recent changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and the abolition of the dual system of nomenclature for fungi. These changes include 10 new combinations into Drechmeria, four new combinations into Harposporium, 23 new combinations and 15 synonymies in Ophiocordyceps, and one new combination into Purpureocillium.

Ascochlorin derivatives from the leafhopper pathogenic fungus Microcera sp. BCC 17074.

Two new ascochlorin derivatives, nectchlorins A (1) and B (2), together with eight known compounds (3-10), were isolated from cultures of the leafhopper pathogen Microcera sp. BCC 17074. The structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometry data. The absolute configuration of 2 was determined by application of the modified Mosher's method. The absolute configuration of LL-Z 1272α epoxide (9), which is a plausible biosynthetic precursor of ascochlorins, was established by chemical correlations. Cytotoxic activities of these ascochlorin derivatives were evaluated.

Phylogenetic-based nomenclatural proposals for Ophiocordycipitaceae (Hypocreales) with new combinations in Tolypocladium.

Ophiocordycipitaceae is a diverse family comprising ecologically, economically, medicinally, and culturally important fungi. The family was recognized due to the polyphyly of the genus Cordyceps and the broad diversity of the mostly arthropod-pathogenic lineages of Hypocreales. The other two cordyceps-like families, Cordycipitaceae and Clavicipitaceae, will be revised taxonomically elsewhere. Historically, many species were placed in Cordyceps, but other genera have been described in this family as well, including several based on anamorphic features. Currently there are 24 generic names in use across both asexual and sexual life stages for species of Ophiocordycipitaceae. To reflect changes in Art. 59 in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), we propose to protect and to suppress names within Ophiocordycipitaceae, and to present taxonomic revisions in the genus Tolypocladium, based on rigorous and extensively sampled molecular phylogenetic analyses. When approaching this task, we considered the principles of priority, monophyly, minimizing taxonomic revisions, and the practical utility of these fungi within the wider biological research community.

Torrubiellone E, an antimalarial N-hydroxypyridone alkaloid from the spider pathogenic fungus Torrubiella longissima BCC 2022.

Torrubiellone E (1), a new N-hydroxypyridone alkaloid, was isolated from the spider pathogenic fungus Torrubiella longissima BCC 2022, together with the known compounds, torrubiellones A (2) and B (3), and JBIR-130 (4). Compound 1 exhibited antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum K1 with an IC5 value of 3.2 microg/mL, while it also showed weak cytotoxic activities.

The phylogenetic placement of hypocrealean insect pathogens in the genus Polycephalomyces: an application of One Fungus One Name.

Understanding the systematics and evolution of clavicipitoid fungi has been greatly aided by the application of molecular phylogenetics. They are now classified in three families, largely driven by reevaluation of the morphologically and ecologically diverse genus Cordyceps. Although reevaluation of morphological features of both sexual and asexual states were often found to reflect the structure of phylogenies based on molecular data, many species remain of uncertain placement due to a lack of reliable data or conflicting morphological characters. A rigid, darkly pigmented stipe and the production of a Hirsutella-like anamorph in culture were taken as evidence for the transfer of the species Cordyceps cuboidea, Cordyceps prolifica, and Cordyceps ryogamiensis to the genus Ophiocordyceps. Data from ribosomal DNA supported these species as a single group, but were unable to infer deeper relationships in Hypocreales. Here, molecular data for ribosomal and protein coding DNA from specimens of Ophiocordyceps cuboidea, Ophiocordyceps ryogamiensis, Ophiocordyceps paracuboidea, Ophiocordyceps prolifica, Cordyceps ramosopulvinata, Cordyceps nipponica, and isolates of Polycephalomyces were combined with a broadly sampled dataset of Hypocreales. Phylogenetic analyses of these data revealed that these species represent a clade distinct from the other clavicipitoid genera. Applying the recently adopted single system of nomenclature, new taxonomic combinations are proposed for these species in the genus Polycephalomyces, which has been historically reserved for asexual or anamorphic taxa.

Ophiocordyceps halabalaensis: a new species of Ophiocordyceps pathogenic to Camponotus gigas in Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Thailand.

Several fungal pathogens of ants have been reported as members of the family Ophiocordycipitaceae in the order Hypocreales. Surveys in the south of Thailand have shown specimens showing characteristics that are morphologically similar to Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a very common ant pathogen, by producing a lateral pad on one side of the stroma and producing whole ascospores. Phylogenetic analyses of the partial elongation factor tef1-α and the internal transcribed spacer regions ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA have shown that this is a distinct species from O. unilateralis. The morphological characters of Ophiocordyceps halabalaensis differs from O. unilateralis in the possession of bigger perithecia and ascospores, and molecular analyses have shown that this ant-specific fungus is sufficiently different from O. unilateralis, deserving the naming of a new species. Aspects of morphology, host association/host-specificity, and taxonomic position are discussed.

Purpureocillium, a new genus for the medically important Paecilomyces lilacinus.

Paecilomyces lilacinus was described more than a century ago and is a commonly occurring fungus in soil. However, in the last decade this fungus has been increasingly found as the causal agent of infections in man and other vertebrates. Most cases of disease are described from patients with compromised immune systems or intraocular lens implants. In this study, we compared clinical isolates with strains isolated from soil, insects and nematodes using 18S rRNA gene, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF) sequences. Our data show that P. lilacinus is not related to Paecilomyces, represented by the well-known thermophilic and often pathogenic Paecilomyces variotii. The new genus name Purpureocillium is proposed for P. lilacinus and the new combination Purpureocillium lilacinum is made here. Furthermore, the examined Purpureocillium lilacinum isolated grouped in two clades based on ITS and partial TEF sequences. The ITS and TEF sequences of the Purpureocillium lilacinum isolates used for biocontrol of nematode pests are identical to those causing infections in (immunocompromised) humans. The use of high concentrations of Purpureocillium lilacinum spores for biocontrol poses a health risk in immunocompromised humans and more research is needed to determine the pathogenicity factors of Purpureocillium lilacinum.

Behavioral mechanisms and morphological symptoms of zombie ants dying from fungal infection.

BACKGROUND: Parasites that manipulate host behavior can provide prominent examples of extended phenotypes: parasite genomes controlling host behavior. Here we focus on one of the most dramatic examples of behavioral manipulation, the death grip of ants infected by Ophiocordyceps fungi. We studied the interaction between O. unilateralis s.l. and its host ant Camponotus leonardi in a Thai rainforest, where infected ants descend from their canopy nests down to understory vegetation to bite into abaxial leaf veins before dying. Host mortality is concentrated in patches (graveyards) where ants die on sapling leaves ca. 25 cm above the soil surface where conditions for parasite development are optimal. Here we address whether the sequence of ant behaviors leading to the final death grip can also be interpreted as parasite adaptations and describe some of the morphological changes inside the heads of infected workers that mediate the expression of the death grip phenotype. RESULTS: We found that infected ants behave as zombies and display predictable stereotypical behaviors of random rather than directional walking, and of repeated convulsions that make them fall down and thus precludes returning to the canopy. Transitions from erratic wandering to death grips on a leaf vein were abrupt and synchronized around solar noon. We show that the mandibles of ants penetrate deeply into vein tissue and that this is accompanied by extensive atrophy of the mandibular muscles. This lock-jaw means the ant will remain attached to the leaf after death. We further present histological data to show that a high density of single celled stages of the parasite within the head capsule of dying ants are likely to be responsible for this muscular atrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Extended phenotypes in ants induced by fungal infections are a complex example of behavioral manipulation requiring coordinated changes of host behavior and morphology. Future work should address the genetic basis of such extended phenotypes.

Chemical taxonomy of Torrubiella s. lat.: zeorin as a marker of Conoideocrella.

The insect pathogens in the genus Torrubiella s. lat. were recently divided into new genera based on molecular phylogenetic characters. Isolates collected at various locations in Thailand, were tested for their productivity of a hopane-type triterpene, zeorin (6α,22-dihydroxyhopane), when cultured in potato dextrose broth under static conditions. Among the 49 strains of Torrubiella s. lat. species, Conoideocrella luteorostrata (ten strains) and C. tenuis (seven strains), all collected on scale insects (Hemiptera), produced zeorin, whereas another six strains of Orbiocrella petchii (which was recently removed from Torrubiella) failed in the detection of this secondary metabolite. All other Torrubiella s. lat. (26 strains), collected on other insect hosts including leafhoppers (eight strains), Lepidoptera (one strain), and spiders (17 strains), produced no detectable zeorin. Paecilomyces cinnamomeus (nine strains), the anamorph of C. luteorostrata, also produced zeorin. These results correspond with the recent taxonomic reclassification based on multigene phylogeny.

Samuelsia mundiveteris sp. nov. from Thailand.

Samuelsia mundiveteris is described as the first member of the genus from the Old World tropics.

Pyridone and tetramic acid alkaloids from the spider pathogenic fungus Torrubiella sp. BCC 2165.

Torrubiellones A-D (1-4), new pyridone and tetramic acid alkaloids, were isolated from the spider pathogenic fungus Torrubiella sp. BCC 2165. Torrubiellone A (1) exhibited antimalarial activity with an IC(50) value of 8.1 µM, while it showed very weak cytotoxic activity.

Ophiocordyceps barnesii and its relationship to other melolonthid pathogens with dark stromata.

A hypocrealean Coleoptera pathogen with characteristic part-spores, collected from Khao Yai National Park and Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand, is reported. The overall morphology was similar to Cordyceps barnesii, which is known from Sri Lanka, with ascospores disarticulating into four unusually long part-spores that were 30-40 µm long. This disarticulation and part-spore size is, so far, unique within Cordyceps sensu lato. The Thai material was identified with C. barnesii and its placement in the genus Ophiocordyceps was confirmed. Multigene analyses based on the ribosomal small subunit, RPB1 and RPB2 genes revealed the close relationship of the Thai material to Ophiocordyceps konnoana as well as O. ravenelii, O. superficialis, and O. nigrella (all of which have significantly smaller part-spores). However, Ophiocordyceps barnesii and these related species were all characterised by dark-brown to purplish stromata and an affinity for melolonthid larval hosts. No anamorph was seen in the field and was not produced in the slow-growing cultures.

A beauvericin hot spot in the genus Isaria.

Beauvericin is a naturally occurring cyclohexadepsipeptide originally described from Beauveria bassiana but also reported from several Fusarium species as well as members of the genus Isaria. Twenty-six isolates of Isaria species and its Cordyceps teleomorph, and ten taxonomically close strains including Beauveria, Nomuraea and Paecilomyces species were sequenced and tested for beauvericin production. Trees using ITS rDNA and beta-tubulin sequence data were constructed and used to infer the phylogenetic distribution of beauvericin production. A group comprising Isaria tenuipes and its known teleomorph Cordyceps takaomontana, Isaria cicadae and its Cordyceps teleomorph, Isaria japonica and Isaria fumosorosea, showed positive beauvericin production which correlated well with combined ITS rDNA and beta-tubulin phylogenies. The results suggested that beauvericin can serve as a chemotaxonomic marker for these limited species of the I. tenuipes complex.

The life of a dead ant: the expression of an adaptive extended phenotype.

Specialized parasites are expected to express complex adaptations to their hosts. Manipulation of host behavior is such an adaptation. We studied the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a locally specialized parasite of arboreal Camponotus leonardi ants. Ant-infecting Ophiocordyceps are known to make hosts bite onto vegetation before killing them. We show that this represents a fine-tuned fungal adaptation: an extended phenotype. Dead ants were found under leaves, attached by their mandibles, on the northern side of saplings approximately 25 cm above the soil, where temperature and humidity conditions were optimal for fungal growth. Experimental relocation confirmed that parasite fitness was lower outside this manipulative zone. Host resources were rapidly colonized and further secured by extensive internal structuring. Nutritional composition analysis indicated that such structuring allows the parasite to produce a large fruiting body for spore production. Our findings suggest that the osmotrophic lifestyle of fungi may have facilitated novel exploitation strategies.

Hopane triterpenes as chemotaxonomic markers for the scale insect pathogens Hypocrella s. lat. and Aschersonia.

The scale insect pathogens Hypocrella s. lat. and their Aschersonia anamorphs, collected at various locations in Thailand, were surveyed for their productivity of three hopane triterpenes, zeorin (6alpha,22-dihydroxyhopane), dustanin (15alpha,22-dihydroxyhopane), and 3beta-acetoxy-15alpha,22-dihydroxyhopane, when cultured in a liquid medium (potato-dextrose broth) under static conditions. Among 53 strains of Aschersonia species, 48 strains (91 %) produced at least one of these compounds. Hypocrella and Moelleriella species (43 strains) also frequently produced these triterpenoids; only two strains lacked all of these triterpenes. The results demonstrate that hopane triterpenes may be suitable for use as chemotaxonomic markers for Hypocrella and Moelleriella species and their Aschersonia anamorphs.

Isariotins E and F, spirocyclic and bicyclic hemiacetals from the entomopathogenic fungus Isaria tenuipes BCC 12625.

New spirocyclic and bicyclic hemiacetals, isariotins E (1) and F (2), together with TK-57-164A (3) were isolated from the entomopathogenic fungus Isaria tenuipes BCC 12625. The absolute configuration of 3 was addressed by application of the modified Mosher's method. Isariotin F (2) exhibited activity against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum K1 with an IC(50) value of 5.1 microM and cytotoxic activities against cancer cell lines (KB, BC, and NCI-H187) and nonmalignant (Vero) cells with respective IC(50) values of 15.8, 2.4, 1.6, and 2.9 microM.