Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales)
<i>Gibellula</i> (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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Fungi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/4/457 |
| _version_ | 1797604788192411648 |
|---|---|
| author | Thairine Mendes-Pereira João Paulo Machado de Araújo Thiago Gechel Kloss Diogo Henrique Costa-Rezende Daniel Santana de Carvalho Aristóteles Góes-Neto |
| author_facet | Thairine Mendes-Pereira João Paulo Machado de Araújo Thiago Gechel Kloss Diogo Henrique Costa-Rezende Daniel Santana de Carvalho Aristóteles Góes-Neto |
| author_sort | Thairine Mendes-Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Gibellula</i> (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 <i>Gibellula</i> 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 <i>Gibellula</i>, 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 <i>G. mirabilis</i> and <i>G. mainsii</i>, 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:51:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c97b4de0b284f0485c7d0a00e7c69fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2309-608X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:51:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Fungi |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c97b4de0b284f0485c7d0a00e7c69fe2023-11-17T19:58:24ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2023-04-019445710.3390/jof9040457Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales)Thairine Mendes-Pereira0João Paulo Machado de Araújo1Thiago Gechel Kloss2Diogo Henrique Costa-Rezende3Daniel Santana de Carvalho4Aristóteles Góes-Neto5Laboratory of Molecular and Computational Biology of Fungi, Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, BrazilInstitute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10458-5126, USALaboratory of Behavioral Ecology, Department of General Biology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, BrazilDepartment of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana 44036-900, BA, BrazilLaboratory of Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-091, MG, BrazilLaboratory of Molecular and Computational Biology of Fungi, Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil<i>Gibellula</i> (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 <i>Gibellula</i> 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 <i>Gibellula</i>, 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 <i>G. mirabilis</i> and <i>G. mainsii</i>, 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/4/457host–parasite interactionarthropod pathogen<i>Gibellula</i>Ascomycotamolecular phylogeny |
| spellingShingle | Thairine Mendes-Pereira João Paulo Machado de Araújo Thiago Gechel Kloss Diogo Henrique Costa-Rezende Daniel Santana de Carvalho Aristóteles Góes-Neto Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) Journal of Fungi host–parasite interaction arthropod pathogen <i>Gibellula</i> Ascomycota molecular phylogeny |
| title | Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) |
| title_full | Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) |
| title_fullStr | Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) |
| title_short | Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus <i>Gibellula</i> (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) |
| title_sort | disentangling the taxonomy systematics and life history of the spider parasitic fungus i gibellula i cordycipitaceae hypocreales |
| topic | host–parasite interaction arthropod pathogen <i>Gibellula</i> Ascomycota molecular phylogeny |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/4/457 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thairinemendespereira disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales AT joaopaulomachadodearaujo disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales AT thiagogechelkloss disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales AT diogohenriquecostarezende disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales AT danielsantanadecarvalho disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales AT aristotelesgoesneto disentanglingthetaxonomysystematicsandlifehistoryofthespiderparasiticfungusigibellulaicordycipitaceaehypocreales |