The authors of this paper conducted a comparative metabolomic analysis of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (OS), providing the metabolic profiles of the stroma (OSBSz) and sclerotia (OSBSh) of OS by widely targeted metabolomics and untargeted metabolomics. The results showed that 778 and 1449 metabolites were identified by the widely targeted metabolomics and untargeted metabolomics approaches, respectively. The metabolites in OSBSz and OSBSh are significantly differentiated; 71 and 96 differentially expressed metabolites were identified by the widely targeted metabolomics and untargeted metabolomics approaches, respectively. This suggests that these 71 metabolites (riboflavine, tripdiolide, bromocriptine, lumichrome, tetrahymanol, citrostadienol, etc.) and 96 metabolites (sancycline, vignatic acid B, pirbuterol, rubrophen, epalrestat, etc.) are potential biomarkers. 4-Hydroxybenzaldehyde, arginine, and lumichrome were common differentially expressed metabolites. Using the widely targeted metabolomics approach, the key pathways identified that are involved in creating the differentiation between OSBSz and OSBSh may be nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, thiamine metabolism, riboflavin metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis. The differentially expressed metabolites identified using the untargeted metabolomics approach were mainly involved in arginine biosynthesis, terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, and cysteine and methionine metabolism. The purpose of this research was to provide support for the assessment of the differences between the stroma and sclerotia, to furnish a material basis for the evaluation of the physical effects of OS, and to provide a reference for the selection of detection methods for the metabolomics of OS.

Some Ophiocordyceps species infecting ants are able to manipulate the host behavior. The hosts are manipulated in order to move to location that are advantageous for fungal spore transmission. Ophiocordyceps species that are able to manipulate the ant's behavior are called "zombie-ant fungi". They are widespread within tropical forests worldwide, with relatively few reports from subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaf forest. Zombie-ant fungi have been described and reported in different countries worldwide. However, there were a few reports from China. This study proposed six new species of zombie-ant fungi from China based on multi-gene (SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1 and RPB2) phylogenetic analyses and morphological characteristics. Six novel species of Ophiocordyceps from China were identified as the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis core clade, forming a separate lineage with other species. Six novel species of Ophiocordyceps with hirsutella-like asexual morphs exclusively infecting ants were presented herein, namely, Ophiocordyceps acroasca, Ophiocordyceps bifertilis, Ophiocordyceps subtiliphialida, Ophiocordyceps basiasca, Ophiocordyceps nuozhaduensis and Ophiocordyceps contiispora. Descriptions and illustrations for six taxon were provided. Five of these species were collected from the subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaf forest, and one was collected from the rainforest and subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaf forest. This work proposes that the same host of Camponotus can be infected by multiple ant pathogenic fungi, while multiple ants of Polyrhachis can be infected by the same pathogenic fungi at the same time. This study contributes towards a better understanding of the evolutionary relationship between hosts and fungi, and provides novel insights into the morphology, distribution, parasitism, and ecology of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato. We have provided a method for obtaining living cultures of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis complex species and their asexual morphs based on the living cultures, which is of significant value for further studies of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis complex species in the future.

Ophiocordyceps species have a wide range of insect hosts, from solitary beetle larva to social insects. However, among the species of Ophiocordyceps, only a few attack cicada nymphs. These species are mainly clustered in the Ophiocordyceps sobolifera clade in Ophiocordyceps. A new entomopathogenic fungus parasitic on cicada nymphs, and another fungus parasitic on the larva of Coleoptera, are described in this study. The two new species viz. Ophiocordyceps hydrangea and Ophiocordyceps bidoupensis were introduced based on morphology and multigene phylogenetic evidence. The phylogenetic framework of Ophiocordyceps was reconstructed using a multigene (nrSSU, nr LSU, tef-1α, rpb1, and rpb2) dataset. The phylogenetic analyses results showed that O. hydrangea and O. bidoupensis were statistically well-supported in the O. sobolifera clade, forming two separate subclades from other species of Ophiocordyceps. The distinctiveness of these two new species was strongly supported by both molecular phylogeny and morphology.

Beauveria is a very important fungal resource. Some Beauveria species have great economic and ecological value. Through surveying Beauveria in China and Thailand over the past 4 years, 15 Beauveria spp. were collected and identified. Three new species—namely, B. polyrhachicola, B. songmingensis, and B. subscarabaeidicola—were described and illustrated based on morphological characteristics and molecular data. The phylogenetic positions of the 15 species were evaluated according to phylogenetic inferences based on six loci (nrSSU, nrLSU, TEF, RPB1, RPB2, and Bloc). Nine species of Beauveria in our study were isolated from adult scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). The pathogenicity of the isolates from the B. bassiana complex and B. scarabaeidicola complex was determined with three bioassays using B. mori and T. molitor larvae, in addition to Protaetia brevitarsis adults. The results indicated that the B. bassiana complex isolates had great potential in the biocontrol of the three insects; by contrast, the B. scarabaeidicola complex isolates showed obvious host specificity and low virulence.

Microdochium includes important plant pathogens, parasitic in economically important wheat, barley, rice and corn, causing economic losses. A new species, Microdochium chuxiongense, was isolated from the host Bondarzewia sp. and reported from China. It was characterized by mycelium immersed and superficial and branched. Conidiophores were cylindrical, borne from the hyphae. Conidiogenous cells were sparse, hyaline, solitary, occasionally curved or swollen. Conidia were single or multiple, long oval, shuttle or sickle, straight or curved, and 0(–3)-septate. Chlamydospores were produced directly from mycelium, single, round or palmate. It was well-supported based on morphological characters and molecular evidence (LSU, ITS, tub2 and rpb2), and was a distinct species within the genus Microdochium. This work increases our understanding of the distribution and host diversity in this group, and provides important taxonomic data to further explore evolutionary relationships in the species of Microdochium.