New species of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, an ubiquitous pathogen of ants from Thailand

Kobmoo, Noppol; Mongkolsamrit, Suchada; Wutikhun, Taksadon; Tasanathai, Kanoksri; Khonsanit, Artit; Thanakitpipattana, Donnaya; Luangsa-ard, Janet Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2014.10.008

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…We used a subset of 4,014 single‐copy orthologous groups common to all species to construct a phylogenetic tree (Figure ). This tree recovered the expected relationships between the sibling species from Thailand, with O. polyrhachis‐furcata being the most closely related to O. camponoti‐leonardi (Kobmoo et al., , ); the species from the Americas, O. kimflemingiae and O. camponoti‐rufipedis , clustered together but were separate from those from Thailand, corresponding to the separation between the Old and New Worlds observed in a previous study (Evans, Araújo, Halfeld, & Hughes, 2018). The two O. australis s.l .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

A genome scan of diversifying selection in Ophiocordyceps zombie‐ant fungi suggests a role for enterotoxins in co‐evolution and host specificity

et al. 2018

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Identification of the genes underlying adaptation sheds light on the biological functions targeted by natural selection. Searches for footprints of positive selection, in the form of rapid amino acid substitutions, and the identification of species-specific genes have proved to be powerful approaches to identifying the genes involved in host specialization in plant-pathogenic fungi. We used an evolutionary comparative genomic approach to identify genes underlying host adaptation in the ant-infecting genus Ophiocordyceps, which manipulates ant behaviour. A comparison of the predicted genes in the genomes of species from three species complexes-O. unilateralis, O. australis and O. subramanianii-revealed an enrichment in pathogenesis-associated functions, including heat-labile enterotoxins, among species-specific genes. Furthermore, these genes were overrepresented among those displaying significant footprints of positive selection. Other categories of genes suspected to be important for virulence and pathogenicity in entomopathogenic fungi (e.g., chitinases, lipases, proteases, core secondary metabolism genes) were much less represented, although a few candidate genes were found to evolve under positive selection. An analysis including orthologs from other entomopathogenic fungi in a broader context showed that positive selection on enterotoxins was specific to the ant-infecting genus Ophiocordyceps. Together with previous studies reporting the overexpression of an enterotoxin during behavioural manipulation in diseased ants, our findings suggest that heat-labile enterotoxins are important effectors in host adaptation and co-evolution in the Ophiocordyceps entomopathogenic fungi.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

A genome scan of diversifying selection in Ophiocordyceps zombie‐ant fungi suggests a role for enterotoxins in co‐evolution and host specificity

et al. 2018

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“…Although leaf biting predominates in the tropics, we know of two exceptions; one in Costa Rica (online record, Dataset ) and another in Thailand (Kobmoo et al. ). In both cases, the ants are found biting chlorenchymous stems (green stems/twigs that are photosynthetically active and lack cambium) and detailed information about behavior and ecology of these can be found in the Appendix.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Kobmoo et al. ), the default manipulation is leaf biting. However, twigs are also in abundance on tropical forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…killed ants encountered was not recorded, but it is in excess of 10,000 samples based on 12 years of field work in the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil (Loreto et al 2014), Amazonian forest of Brazil (Araujo et al 2015), and Colombia (Sanjuan et al 2001) and lowland forests of Peninsular Thailand (Andersen et al 2009;Pontoppidan et al 2009;Mongkolsamrit et al 2012). Although leaf biting predominates in the tropics, we know of two exceptions; one in Costa Rica (online record, Dataset S1) and another in Thailand (Kobmoo et al 2015). In both cases, the ants are found biting chlorenchymous stems (green stems/twigs that are photosynthetically active and lack cambium) and detailed information about behavior and ecology of these can be found in the Appendix.…”

Section: Substratementioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for convergent evolution of host parasitic manipulation in response to environmental conditions

et al. 2018

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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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“…Ophiocordyceps lloydii var. binata (Evans & Samson 1984) in South America, O. irangiensis (Moureau 1961) in Africa, and O. japonensis (Bequaert 1922), and O. rami and O. septa (Kobmoo et al 2015) in Asia are other species that parasitize Camponotus species.…”

Section: Family Formicidaementioning

confidence: 99%

Mycosphere Essay 19. Cordyceps species parasitizing hymenopteran and hemipteran insects

Shrestha¹

2017

Mycosphere

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Hymenoptera and Hemiptera are two major insect orders after Coleoptera and Lepidoptera that are parasitized by Cordyceps species. Among the 52 Cordyceps species parasitizing hymenopterans, the majority (50 species) are recorded on suborder Apocrita (ants, bees, wasps). Ant family Formicidae is the mostly parasitized family followed by Vespidae (wasps). Ophiocordyceps uilateralis, O. sphececephala, O. myrmecophila and Cordyceps australis are some of the cosmopolitan species that parasitize ants and wasps. Among Cordyceps species recorded on hemipterans, the majority (34 species) are recorded on suborder Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, spittlebugs, froghoppers), followed by six species on suborder sternorhyncha (scale insects) and four species on the suborder Heteroptera (true bugs). Ophiocordyceps nutans is recorded worldwide in Asia, Africa and South America and parasitizes more than 30 species of true bugs. Another worldwide species is Ophiocordyceps sobolifera that parasitizes six cicada species in Asia, Africa and South America. Pentatomidae (true bugs), Cicadidae (cicadas) and Acanthosomatidae (shield bugs) are major host families within Hemiptera. Cordyceps species parasitizing hemipteran insects are phylogenetically very diverse and are currently segregated into Metarhizium, Ophiocordyceps, Polycephalomyces, Purpureocillium and Tolypocladium. Many hymenopterans and hemipterans are important insect pests and have invaded new localities in the world, threatening agriculture and human life. The host information compiled in this review could be informative for their use as potential biocontrol agents of endemic insect pests belonging to Hymenoptera and Hemiptera, including invasive alien species.

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New species of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, an ubiquitous pathogen of ants from Thailand

Cited by 33 publications

References 20 publications

A genome scan of diversifying selection in Ophiocordyceps zombie‐ant fungi suggests a role for enterotoxins in co‐evolution and host specificity

A genome scan of diversifying selection in Ophiocordyceps zombie‐ant fungi suggests a role for enterotoxins in co‐evolution and host specificity

Evidence for convergent evolution of host parasitic manipulation in response to environmental conditions

Mycosphere Essay 19. Cordyceps species parasitizing hymenopteran and hemipteran insects

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