Four Novel Pleurocordyceps (Polycephalomycetaceae) Species from China
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 2024-01-10
- View Source
Summary
This research identified and described four new species of fungi from China that parasitize insects and other fungi. The study expands our understanding of fungal diversity and the complex relationships between parasitic fungi and their hosts. Impact on everyday life:
– Contributes to biodiversity knowledge which is essential for ecosystem health
– Helps understand parasitic relationships that could be relevant for pest control
– Advances scientific understanding of fungal evolution and adaptation
– May lead to discovery of new compounds useful in medicine or agriculture
Background
Entomopathogenic fungi comprise an ecologically important group of specialized pathogens infecting other fungi, invertebrates, and plants. The majority belong to clavicipitoids, which consist of the hypocrealean families Clavicipitaceae, Cordycipitaceae, Ophiocordycipitaceae, and Polycephalomycetaceae. Polycephalomycetaceae is a newly established entomopathogenic family that recently separated from Ophiocordycipitaceae to accommodate the genera Perennicordyceps, Pleurocordyceps, and Polycephalomyces.
Objective
To expand the number of taxa in the genus Pleurocordyceps by introducing and describing four new species from China: P. clavisynnema, P. multisynnema, P. neoagarica, and P. sanduensis.
Results
Four new species of Pleurocordyceps were identified and described based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Three species (P. clavisynnema, P. multisynnema, and P. sanduensis) have two types of phialides and conidia, while P. neoagarica has one type. The species formed distinct clades in phylogenetic analyses and showed unique morphological features compared to known species.
Conclusion
The discovery of these four new species adds to the diversity of Pleurocordyceps and the Polycephalomycetaceae family. The findings highlight China’s rich diversity of these organisms and demonstrate variable host specialization patterns within the genus.
- Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
- Study Type:Taxonomic Study,
- Source: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1256967