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.

Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae . Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae . Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris ). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium . Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae . Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae ( e.g. , Cosmosporella , Macroconia , Microcera ). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium . To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org . The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa ( ...

Ophiocordyceps species infecting ants – the so-called zombie-ant fungi – comprise one of the most intriguing and fascinating relationships between microbes and animals. They are widespread within tropical forests worldwide, with relatively few reports from temperate ecosystems. These pathogens possess the ability to manipulate host behaviour in order to increase their own fitness. Depending on the fungal species involved the infected ants are manipulated either to leave the nest to ascend understorey shrubs, to die biting onto vegetation, or descend from the canopy to die at the base of trees. Experimental evidence has demonstrated that the behavioural change aids spore dispersal and thus increases the chances of infection, because of the existing behavioural immunity expressed inside ant colonies that limits fungal development and transmission. Despite their undoubted importance for ecosystem functioning, these fungal pathogens are still poorly documented, especially regarding their diversity, ecology and evolutionary relationships. Here, we describe 15 new species of Ophiocordyceps with hirsutella-like asexual morphs that exclusively infect ants. These form a monophyletic group that we identified in this study as myrmecophilous hirsutelloid species. We also propose new combinations for species previously described as varieties and provide for the first time important morphological and ecological information. The species proposed herein were collected in Brazil, Colombia, USA, Australia and Japan. All species could readily be separated using classic taxonomic criteria, in particular ascospore and asexual morphology.

The entomopathogenic Fungi comprise a wide range of ecologically diverse species. This group of parasites can be found distributed among all fungal phyla and as well as among the ecologically similar but phylogenetically distinct Oomycetes or water molds, that belong to a different kingdom (Stramenopila). As a group, the entomopathogenic fungi and water molds parasitize a wide range of insect hosts from aquatic larvae in streams to adult insects of high canopy tropical forests. Their hosts are spread among 18 orders of insects, in all developmental stages such as: eggs, larvae, pupae, nymphs and adults exhibiting completely different ecologies. Such assortment of niches has resulted in these parasites evolving a considerable morphological diversity, resulting in enormous biodiversity, much of which remains unknown. Here we gather together a huge amount of records of these entomopathogens to comparing and describe both their morphologies and ecological traits. These findings highlight a wide range of adaptations that evolved following the evolutionary transition to infecting the most diverse and widespread animals on Earth, the insects. !

In tropical forests, one of the most commonly encountered relationships between parasites and insects is that between the fungus Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota) and ants, especially within the tribe Camponotini. Here, we describe three newly discovered host-specific species, Ophiocordyceps camponoti-atricipis, O. camponotibispinosi and O. camponoti-indiani, on Camponotus ants from the central Amazonian region of Brazil, which can readily be separated using morphological traits, in particular the shape and behavior of the ascospores. DNA sequence data support inclusion of these species within the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis complex.

Environmental conditions exert strong selection on animal behavior. We tested the hypothesis that the altered behavior of hosts due to parasitic manipulation is also subject to selection imposed by changes in environmental conditions over time. Our model system is ants manipulated by parasitic fungi to bite onto vegetation. We analyzed the correlation between forest type (tropical vs. temperate) and the substrate where the host bites (biting substrate: leaf vs. twigs), the time required for the fungi to reach reproductive maturity, and the phylogenetic relationship among specimens from tropical and temperate forests from different parts of the globe. We show that fungal development in temperate forests is longer than the period of time leaves are present and the ants are manipulated to bite twigs. When biting twigs, 90% of the dead ants we examined had their legs wrapped around twigs, which appears to provide better attachment to the plant. Ancestral state character reconstruction suggests that leaf biting is the ancestral trait and that twig biting is a convergent trait in temperate regions of the globe. These three lines of evidence suggest that changes in environmental conditions have shaped the manipulative behavior of the host by its parasite.

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Highlights d Phylogenetic host association reconstructions of the fungal genus Ophiocordyceps d Zombie-ant fungi evolved from fungal parasites of beetle larvae buried in soil/logs d Niche overlap played crucial role for the fungal transition from beetles to ants