Phylogenetic, ecological and morphological characteristics reveal two new spider-associated genera in Clavicipitaceae

By

Wanhao, Chen
Liang, Jiandong
Ren, Xiuxiu
Zhao, Jiehong
Han, Yan-Feng
Liang, Zongqi

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

MycoKeys

Volume

91

Pages

49--66

Subjects

Clavicipitaceae , convergent evolution , Morphology , nutritional preference , Phylogeny

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2011-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.91.86812

 

Abstract

Clavicipitaceous fungi are pathogenic to scale insects, white flies and other insect orders. However, a few species are spider-associated. Two new genera from China, Neoaraneomyces and Pseudometarhizium, are described based on phylogenetic, ecological and morphological characteristics. Two spider-associated species, Neoaraneomyces araneicola, Pseudometarhizium araneogenum, and an insect-associated species Pseudometarhizium lepidopterorum are included. The morphological characteristics of paecilomyces-like conidiogenous structures, present in many insect/spiders associated species make species-level identifications difficult. A phylogenetic analysis of the combined dataset (ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TEF), placed the two new genera in Clavicipitaceae. The new spider-associated species may be the result of convergent evolution to adapt to the ecological environment and may have undergone host jumping or altered their nutritional preferences.