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Gibellula fusiformisporaa fungus on a spider (BBH 38838) b fungus on a spider (BBH 32918) c synnemata (BBH 32918) d, e perithecia (BBH 38838) f ascus (BBH 38838) g ascospores (BBH 38838) h conidia (BBH 32918) i conidiophores showing conidial heads (BBH 32918) j conidial head bearing conidia (BCC 32918) k colonies obverse and reverse on PDA at 25 °C after 20 days. Scale bars: 250 μm (e); 100 μm (i); 50 μm (g); 20 μm (f, h, j).
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Thailand is known to be a part of what is called the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, hosting a vast array of organisms across its diverse ecosystems. This is reflected by the increasing number of new species described over time, especially fungi. However, a very few fungal species from the specialized spider-parasitic genus Gibellula have ever bee...
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Gibellula penicillioides sp. nov. and G. longispora sp. nov. , two new species parasitising spiders collected in China, are illustrated and described, based on morphological features and multiloci phylogenetic analysis. The G. penicillioides sp. nov. group is sister to the G. scorpioides group, but form long penicilloid conidiophore producing enlar...
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... Both Parengyodontium and Gamszarea form a deep lineage close to Simplicillium and Lecanicillium. Otherwise, Cordycipitaceae contains prominent entomopathogenic genera such as Beauveria (Imoulan et al. 2017, Blackwellomyces , Cordyceps (Mongkolsamrit et al. 2018), Gibellula and Hevansia (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020(Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022. These genera are known only as entomopathogens, except Beauveria which was reported to cause an infection in an immune-suppressed human individual (Henke et al. 2002), and occasionally as endophytes (Brownbridge et al. 2012). ...
Four new species of the genus Niveomyces are described from Thailand. They were found as mycoparasites on: Ophiocordyceps infecting flies ( Diptera ) for Niveomyces albus ; ants ( Hymenoptera ) for N. formicidarum ; and leafhoppers ( Hemiptera ) for N. hirsutellae and N. multisynnematus . A new genus, Pseudoniveomyces with two species: Pseudoniveo. blattae (type species), parasitic on Ophiocordyceps infecting cockroaches, and Pseudoniveo. arachnovorum , found on a spider egg sac, are also described. These fungi share a common feature which is a sporothrix-like asexual morph. Based on our molecular data, Sporothrix insectorum is shown to be affiliated to the genus Niveomyces , and thus a new combination N. insectorum comb. nov. is proposed. Niveomyces coronatus , N. formicidarum and N . insectorum formed the N. coronatus species complex found on ant-pathogenic Ophiocordyceps from different continents. Pseudoniveomyces species are distinguished from Niveomyces spp. based on the presence of fusoid macroconidia in culture and a red pigment diffused in the medium, resembling to Gibellula and Hevansia . The molecular phylogenetic analyses also confirmed its generic status. The host/substrates associated with the genera within Cordycipitaceae were mapped onto the phylogeny to demonstrate that mycoparasitism also evolved independently multiple times in this family.
... On the other hand, Hevansia and Polystromomyces share similar morphological characters by producing stipitate ascomata with fertile heads at the terminal end of stipes and perithecia are immersed. The species in these genera are associated with spiders and spider eggs sac, which can be found in the same ecological habitat (on the underside of forest plants) (Mongkolsamrit et al. 2018;Kuephadungphan et al. 2020;Mendes-Pereira et al. 2023). Meanwhile, the teleomorph of Cordyceps on spiders normally produces stromata arising from hosts with the fertile parts being the upper part of stromata. ...
... Polystromomyces, the anamorph has not been seen in the field. (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020(Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022Mongkolsamrit et al. 2022). ...
... Based on our spider-pathogenic fungi collection, we have noted that juveniles and adults of spiders are mainly parasitized by fungi and are rarely found on eggs sac (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020(Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022Mongkolsamrit et al. 2022). Based on the specimens in this study, the eggs sac was completely covered by mycelium, leading to difficulty in identifying the hosts. ...
Fungal specimens parasitic on spider egg sacs (Araneidae sensu lato) were collected, isolated, and identified based on molecular phylogenetic analyses of five nuclear loci (ITS, LSU, TEF1, RPB1 and RPB2) combined with morphological data. In this study, one novel monotypic genus is described, Bhushaniella rubra for Thailand. Bhushaniella rubra is characterized by producing superficial perithecia. Its anamorph has a unique character by producing verticillate phialides with a slightly curved neck. A concurrent evaluation of the secondary metabolites of the mycelial extracts of the new fungus revealed the presence of picoline alkaloids of the penicolinate type, for which we propose the trivial names penicolinates F and G. Their chemical structures were elucidated by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D-NMR) spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). They only showed weak to no antibiotic activity and were devoid of significant cytotoxic effects.
... Sung et al., 2007;Xu et al., 2022), and their numbers are enormously increasing. Extensive work by researchers in this area has enhanced the species diversity within the Ophiocordycipitaceae family (Araújo et al., 2015(Araújo et al., , 2018Shrestha et al., 2019;Chen et al., 2020Chen et al., , 2021Kuephadungphan et al., 2020Kuephadungphan et al., , 2022Mongkolsamrit et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2020;Xiao et al., 2023). Recently, many new species of Ophiocordyceps have been identified from different hosts, for example, O. asiana (Khaongam et al., 2021), O. bidoupensis (Zou et al., 2022), O. buquetii (Mongkolsamrit et al., 2023), O. flavida , O. hydrangea (Zou et al., 2022), O. laotii (Mongkolsamrit et al., 2023), O. mizoramensis (Chawngthu et al., 2021), O. puluongensis (Xu et al., 2022), O. tessaratomidarum (Khao-ngam et al., 2021), and O. vespulae (Long et al., 2021). ...
Ophiocordyceps is a species-rich genus in the order Hypocreales ( Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota ) depicting a fascinating relationship between microbes and insects. In the present study, a new species, Ophiocordyceps indica sp. nov., is discovered infecting lepidopteran larvae from tree line locations (2,202–2,653 m AMSL) of the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, Indian Western Himalayan region, using combinations of morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. A phylogeny for Ophiocordyceps based on a combined multigene (nr SSU , nr LSU, tef-1 α, and RPB1 ) dataset is provided, and its taxonomic status within Ophiocordycipitaceae is briefly discussed. Its genome size (~59 Mb) revealed 94% genetic similarity with O. sinensis ; however, it differs from other extant Ophiocordyceps species based on morphological characteristics, molecular phylogenetic relationships, and genetic distance. O. indica is identified as the second homothallic species in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae , after O. sinensis . The presence of targeted marker components, viz . nucleosides (2,303.25 μg/g), amino acids (6.15%), mannitol (10.13%), and biological activity data, suggests it to be a new potential source of nutraceutical importance. Data generated around this economically important species will expand our understanding regarding the diversity of Ophiocordyceps -like taxa from new locations, thus providing new research avenues.
... The infection of spiders by Gibellula species is probably globally distributed [17][18][19][20]. However, records have been often reported as simple taxonomic notes, which do not include information on the ecology of the parasite or explore the genetic information to determine its phylogenetic placement within Cordycipitaceae. ...
... However, records have been often reported as simple taxonomic notes, which do not include information on the ecology of the parasite or explore the genetic information to determine its phylogenetic placement within Cordycipitaceae. When infected by Gibellula species, different families of spiders are found dead on the abaxial face of leaves [5,12,15,18], where some of them do not naturally occur [21]. Although Gibellula spp. ...
... In the latter case, the number of species is controversial and will be discussed herein. Gibellula taxonomy is broadly based on morphological studies [19,23,31], and relatively few species have multiloci data and have been included in phylogenetic studies [15,18]. Furthermore, the natural phenotypic variation across specimens and multiple cases of synonyms have led to some conflicts in its taxonomy. ...
Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) is frequently observed growing on spiders, but little is known about their host range. One of the greatest challenges in describing these interactions is identifying the host, since the fungus often rapidly consumes the parasitised spiders and destroys important diagnostic taxonomic traits. Additionally, the global diversity of Gibellula remains unclear, as does the natural history and phylogenetic relationships of most of the species. Herein, we performed an extensive investigation on the species of Gibellula, reconstructed the most complete molecular phylogeny of the genus in the context of Cordycipitaceae, and performed a systematic review in order to provide the foundations towards a better understanding of the genus. Therefore, we have performed an integrative study to investigate the life history of the genus and to disentangle the questionable number of valid species proposed over time. We provided novel molecular data for published species that had not been sequenced before, such as G. mirabilis and G. mainsii, and evaluated all the original and modern morphological descriptions. In addition, we presented its global known distribution and compiled all available molecular data. We suggested a set of terms and morphological traits that should be considered in future descriptions of the genus and that a total of 31 species should be considered as accepted.
... were described based on morphological characters (Kobayasi & Shimizu 1977;Mains 1950;Samson & Evans 1992;Tzean et al. 1997). Although the first description of the genus Gibellula was more than a century ago, Gibellula species have rarely been considered in more extensive phylogenetic studies (Chen et al. 2022;Johnson et al. 2009;Kepler et al. 2017;Kuephadungphan et al. 2020). Recent studies have shown that Gibellula is monophyletic (Chen et al. 2016;Kepler et al. 2017;Kuephadungphan et al. 2019Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022; however, some species were previously described as anamorphs of a different genus, Torrubiella. ...
... Fig. 4), which confirms the hypothesis of a new species initially suggested by morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Species that have been recently described with sequences for most of the genomic regions (Chen et al. 2021(Chen et al. , 2022Kuephadungphan et al. 2019Kuephadungphan et al. , 2020Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022 also showed lower intraspecific than interspecific distances for the genomic markers shown here. Some sequences described only at the genus level were closer to described species, such as G. pulchra and G. leiopus, which might help to clarify the identity of these specimens (Fig. 4). ...
Fungal parasites that infect spiders can affect their survival and potentially their behaviour. The genus Gibellula (Ascomycota, Cordycipitaceae) infects arachnids, and due to difficulties in identifying hosts after fungal sporulation, its ecology and spider host diversity are poorly understood. Herein, we propose a new species of Gibellula from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Gibellula aurea, which parasitizes two spider families (Anyphaenidae and Corinnidae). Gibellula aurea exhibits characteristic golden-yellow hyphae that completely cover hosts and white conidiophores emerging along synnemata or directly from hosts. Molecular identification was performed by sequencing the small and large nuclear ribosomal subunits, translation elongation factor, and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit regions, and reconstructing multigene phylogenetic trees. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference phylogenies demonstrate that G. aurea forms a well-supported clade closer to G. flava, G. gamsii, G. leiopus, G. longispora, G. pigmentosinum, and G. pulchra. The phylogenetic reconstruction displayed herein represents the most comprehensive phylogeny for this genus to date. Spider hosts parasitized by G. aurea have been invariably found attached underneath leaves in vegetation, regardless of the identity of the infected hosts. The consistency of the death locations of G. aurea hosts indicates recurrent behaviour given the habitat heterogeneity of these host groups. Nevertheless, it is still unclear to what extent the place where hosts die can favour parasite fitness.
... Species with these features include Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr., Blackwellomyces pseudomilitaris (Hywel-Jones & Sivichai) Spatafora & Luangsaard, Flavocillium bifurcatum H. Yu, Y.B. Wang, Y. Wang, Q. Fan & Zhu L. Yang and Samsoniella inthanonensis Mongkols., Noisrip., Thanakitp., Spatafora & Luangsa-ard (Sung et al. 2007;Kepler et al. 2017;Mongkolsamrit et al. 2018;Wang et al. 2020). Nonetheless, some Cordycipitaceae species are characterised by possessing non-stipitate ascomata, such as Akanthomyces thailandicus Mongkols., Spatafora & Luangsa-ard and Gibellula cebrennini Tasan., Kuephadungphan & Luangsa-ard (Mongkolsamrit et al. 2018;Kuephadungphan et al. 2020), which are parasitic on the spiders, Hyperdermium pulvinatum J.F. White, R.F. Sullivan, Bills & Hywel-Jones and H. caulium (Berk. ...
... Hevansia and Gibellula species are specialised parasites on spiders that inhabit the undersides of leaves. However, the asexual morph of Hevansia differs from Gibellula in the production of phialides in monolayer with mono-or polyphialidic conidiogenous cells, whereas species in Gibellula produce the primary synnemata bearing predominantly aspergillus-like conidiophores or occasionally growing penicillate or granulomanus-like conidiophores (Samson and Brady 1982;Samson and Evans 1992;Kuephadungphan et al. 2020Kuephadungphan et al. , 2022. ...
... The sexual morph of Gibellula is well-known for forming a torrubiella-like state and ascospores that disarticulate into part-spores. Species in Gibellula have been reported from several countries including China, Ecuador, Ghana, Taiwan and Thailand (Samson and Evans 1992;Hsieh et al. 1997;Kuephadungphan et al. 2020;Chen et al. 2021a). ...
Collections of pathogenic fungi found on spiders from Thailand were selected for a detailed taxonomic study. Morphological comparison and phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS, LSU, tef1 , rpb1 and rpb2 sequence data indicated that these specimens formed new independent lineages within the Cordycipitaceae, containing two new genera occurring on spiders, i.e. Jenniferia gen. nov. and Polystromomyces gen. nov. Two new species in Jenniferia , J. griseocinerea sp. nov. and J. thomisidarum sp. nov. , are described. Two strains, NHJ 03510 and BCC 2191, initially named as Akanthomyces cinereus ( Hevansia cinerea ), were shown to be part of Jenniferia . By including sequences of putative Hevansia species from GenBank, we also revealed Parahevansia as a new genus with the ex-type strain NHJ 666.01 of Pa. koratensis , accommodating specimens previously named as Akanthomyces koratensis ( Hevansia koratensis ). One species of Polystromomyces , Po. araneae sp. nov. , is described. We established an asexual-sexual morph connection for Hevansia novoguineensis (Cordycipitaceae) with ex-type CBS 610.80 and proposed a new species, H. minuta sp. nov. Based on characteristics of the sexual morph, Hevansia and Polystromomyces share phenotypic traits by producing stipitate ascoma with fertile terminal heads; however, they differ in the shape and colour of the stipes. Meanwhile, Jenniferia produces non-stipitate ascoma with aggregated superficial perithecia forming a cushion. A new morphology of ascospores in Jenniferia is described, illustrated and compared with other species in Cordycipitaceae.
... Microscopic observations were made from squash mounts and sections made from fresh material. The fresh structures were mounted in water for measurements and lactophenol cotton blue solution for microphotography, following Kuephadungphan et al. (2020). We observed microscopic characteristics, such as size and shape of conidia, phialide, vesicles, metulae and conidiophores using a ZEISS Axiolab 5 microscope. ...
... or MycoBank (www.mycobank.org) (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020). Therefore, due to the lack of formal description of isolate NHJ12014, the species name G. longispora was an invalid publication in 2009. ...
... Recently, we also found and published a new Gibellula species with Torrubiella-like sexual morph. Overall, ten species or varieties have been reported in China (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020;Chen et al. 2021 The specimens used in this study were collected from Anhui and Guangdong Provinces, which suggests that the two new species may be widely distributed in southern China. Kuephadungphan et al. (2020) indicated that host specificity can be used to assess the virulence and potential of biocontrol agents. ...
Gibellula penicillioides sp. nov. and G. longispora sp. nov. , two new species parasitising spiders collected in China, are illustrated and described, based on morphological features and multiloci phylogenetic analysis. The G. penicillioides sp. nov. group is sister to the G. scorpioides group, but form long penicilloid conidiophore producing enlarged fusiform conidia ((7–) 7.5–9 (–10) × 2.5–3.5 μm). G. longispora sp. nov. is sister to G. pigmentosinum , but has slender long conidia (5–7 × 1–2 μm); teleomorph and Granulomanus-synanamorphic conidiogenous cells are absent in these two species. Type specimens of G. penicillioides sp. nov. and G. longispora sp. nov. were deposited in the Anhui Agricultural University (RCEF). In addition, a key to all known species of Gibellula is illustrated.
... The synonymising of G. pulchra (the type species) with G. leiopus, limited access to certain holotypes, a lack of holotype sequences as well as living cultures, have created nomenclatural and taxonomic complications which unavoidably created confusion and difficulty in species identification. According to Shrestha et al. (2019) and our previous reports on the five new species of Gibellula (Kuephadungphan et al. , 2020, there are currently 21 species accepted in this genus. Gibellula can be identified by producing aspergillus-like conidiophores on synnemata with the appearance of lupines growing on the spider host. ...
... However, other species are indistinguishable based solely on the macroscopic features. For instance, G. cebrennini can be discriminated from G. fusiformispora only by having much longer conidiophores (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020). As Gibellula is known to be linked with a Torrubiella sexual morph, it may occur on a spider host either with or without the presence of Gibellula. ...
... As Gibellula is known to be linked with a Torrubiella sexual morph, it may occur on a spider host either with or without the presence of Gibellula. Gibellula cebrennini is an example of a species that can be found producing only Torrubiella perithecia on spider hosts (Kuephadungphan et al. 2020). Torrubiella was proven by phylogenetic analyses to be a polyphyletic group distributed across several genera, not only within the Cordycipitaceae but also the Clavicipitaceae , Johnson et al. 2009, Kepler et al. 2017. ...
Over 80 species of hypocrealean fungi are reported as pathogens of spiders and harvestmen. Among these fungi, the genus Gibellula is highly regarded as a specialised spider-killer that has never been reported to infect other arthropods. While more than 20 species of Gibellula are known, few attempts to identify the infected spiders have been made despite the fact that the host specificity can help identify the fungal species. Here, we morphologically describe and illustrate eight new species of Gibellula and three new records from Thailand of known species along with the multi-gene phylogeny that clearly showed the segregation among the proposed species. Examination of the Gibellula-infected spider hosts identified Oxyopidae, Uloboridae and, for the first time, the ant-mimicking genus Myrmarachne.
Taxonomic novelties: New species: Gibellula brevistipitata Kuephadungphan, Tasanathai & Luangsa-ard, G. longicaudata Tasanathai, Kuephadungphan & Luangsa-ard, G. longispora Kuephadungphan & Luangsa-ard, G. nigelii Kuephadungphan, Tasanathai & Luangsa-ard, G. parvula Kuephadungphan, Tasanathai & Luangsa-ard, G. pilosa Kuephadungphan, Tasanathai & Luangsa-ard, G. solita Kuephadungphan, Tasanathai & Luangsa-ard, G. trimorpha Tasanathai, Khonsanit, Kuephadungphan & Luangsa-ard.
Citation: Kuephadungphan W, Petcharad B, Tasanathai K, Thanakitpipattana D, Kobmoo N, Khonsanit A, Samson RA, Luangsa-ard JJ (2022). Multi-locus phylogeny unmasks hidden species within the specialised spider-parasitic fungus, Gibellula (Hypocreales, Cordycipitaceae) in Thailand. Studies in Mycology 101: 245–286. doi: 10.3114/sim.2022.101.04.
... The phylogeny inferred from multiple loci allowed us to recognize new taxa, supported by secondary metabolite profiles. A chemotaxonomic investigation of the secondary metabolite profiles using HPLC-DAD-MS analysis revealed the existence of two interesting pigments in submerged culture of G. pigmentosinum, one among four new species that were introduced based on morphological data and a multi gene genealogy (Kuephadungphan et al., 2020;Helaly et al., 2019). These two pigments were subsequently isolated to purity and identified as pigments of the rare bis(naphtho-α-) pyrone type . ...
This mini-review is dedicated to the summary of results of the EU-funded Project “Golden Mycological Triangle” (acronym GoMyTri), which was carried out in collaboration of three research infrastructures in Germany, the Netherlands and Thailand during the years 2014-2018. The cooperation explored the mycological and microbiological biodiversity of Europe and Southeast Asia with regard to the search for the badly needed new antibiotics and other biologically active secondary metabolites. The project was conducted to foster international collaboration networks, know-how exchange and interdisciplinary training of young scientists. The first two years of the project were mainly dedicated to field work, and several hundreds of fungal cultures have been isolated from material mostly collected in Thailand. These fungal strains were characterized by morphological and molecular phylogenetic methods and several new taxa were discovered. The cultures underwent screening for antimicrobial and nematicidal metabolites and a number of bioactive metabolites have already been found, isolated and characterized. Several large phylogenetic studies have already been published that resulted from the project work. The results were also brought to the attention to the scientific community as well as the general public through various dissemination events. Based on the tremendous success of this project, a follow-up project application including additional partners from Africa and further European countries has recently been filed and approved, and the international, interdisciplinary collaboration will now continue in the new RISE-MSCA-Project (acronym “Mycobiomics”²)
This chapter focuses primarily on theraphosids, since these are the most common species under human care. Some of the most commonly kept Theraphosidae species include the Mexican redknee tarantula ( B. hamorii ); Chilean rose tarantula ( Grammostola rosea ); goliath bird eater ( Theraphosa blondi ), curlyhair tarantula ( Brachypelma albopilosum ), and pinktoe tarantula ( Avicularia avicularia ) from the Americas; and the Asian ornamental tarantulas ( Poecilotheria spp. ). In North America, Aphonopelma species such as the Texas brown tarantula ( Aphonopelma hentzi ) and desert blonde tarantula ( Aphonopelma chalcodes ) are commonly kept because of their natural occurrence in southern areas of the United States. Spider neurobiology has been better researched than many other aspects of arachnid anatomy and physiology. Postmortem examination of spiders from a collection may be more rewarding than clinical examination of a live, debilitated spider. Administration of medication in spiders can be challenging due to their small size, the presence of an exoskeleton, and relative lack of published drug dosages.
