Hypocreales » Cordycipitaceae

Lecanicillium

Lecanicillium W. Gams & Zare, Nova Hedwigia 72(3-4): 332 (2001)

Sordariomycetes, Hypocreomycetidae, Hypocreales, Cordycipitaceae

Index Fungorum number: IF 28528; 35 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2021), 35 species with sequence data.

Parasitic or saprobic on arthropods, nematodes, plants and fungi. Asexual morph: Conidiophores arising from aerial or prostrate hyphae. Phialides solitary or verticillate, slender, discrete, tapering towards the apex, occasionally, presenting secondary branch. Conidia hyaline, ellipsoidal, cylindrical, fusiform to falcate, adhering in slimy masses or fascicles at right angles to phialide apex at maturity. Solitary conidia produced on each phialide have been observed in a few species of this genus (Wei et al. 2018). Sexual morph: Torrubiella, Cordyceps (Zare & Gams 2001).

Type species: Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimm.) Zare & W. Gams, in Gams & Zare, Nova Hedwigia 72(3-4): 333 (2001)

Notes: Lecanicillium was established by Zare & Gams (2001). However, this generic name has been rejected by Kepler et al. (2017) because the type species L. lecanii had been synonymized under Akanthomyces. In view of the fact that this genus is polyphyletic and many species are incertae sedis members, the treatment of Kepler et al. (2017) was not fully agreed by some authors who afterward added new species under Lecanicillium. Wang et al. (2020) did not make major revision on this genus, but added two new genera (Flavocillium and Liangia) that have Lecanicillium-like asexual morphs. More multigene-based taxa sampling are called for the clarification of this genus.

 

Other species:

Lecanicillium uredinophilum M.J. Park, S.B. Hong & H.D. Shin

 

References:

Kepler RM, Luangsa-Ard JJ, Hywel-Jones NL, Quandt CA et al. 2017 – A phylogenetically-based nomenclature for Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales). IMA Fungus 8: 335–353.

Wang YB, Wang Y, Fan Q, Duan DE, Zhang GD, Dai RQ et al. 2020 – Multigene phylogeny of the family Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales): new taxa and the new systematic position of the Chinese cordycipitoid fungus Paecilomyces hepiali. Fungal Diversity 103(1): 1–46.

Wei DP, Wanasinghe DN, Chaiwat TA, Hyde KD et al. 2018 – Lecanicillium uredinophilum known from rusts, also occurs on animal hosts with chitinous bodies. Asian Journal of Mycology 1: 63-73.

Zare R, Gams W. 2001 – A revision of Verticillium section Prostrata. IV. The genera Lecanicillium and Simplicillium gen. nov. Nova Hedwigia 73: 1–50.

 

Recent Genus

Samsoniella
Gibellula
Akanthomyces

Recent Species

Ophiocordyceps sporangifera
Ophiocordyceps nutans
Ophiocordyceps globiceps