Ophiocordyceps sporangifera
Ophiocordyceps sporangifera Y.P. Xiao, T.C. Wen & K.D. Hyde, MycoKeys 47: 63 (2019)
Index Fungorum number: IF 555324; Facesofungi number: FoF 04865
Parasitic on larva of Elateridae (Coleoptera). Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Epigeal synnema up to 4.2 cm in high, 940 μm in wide, gray, cylindrical, straight, single, rhizote, producing numerous small branches, terminating in a subglobose, gray fertile head. Fertile head 4.9 mm in diam., gray, globose, composed of numerous sporangia, terminating in tip of epigeal synnema. Sporangia 80–130 (x̄ = 109, n = 10) μm in diam., brown, globose, containing numerous spores. Spores in sporangia 10–15 (x̄ = 12, n = 25) μm, hyaline, subglobose to irregularly shaped, thick-walled, aseptate. Hypogeal synnemata 800–1200 (x̄ = 999, n = 5) μm in long, up to 35μm in wide, forming from surface of host body, cylindrical, dark brown, unbranched. Conidiophores reduced to phialides. Phialides 20–50 × 2–5 (x̄ = 33 × 3.2, n = 20) μm, laterally forming from synnemata, hirsutella-like, hyaline to pale brown, 0-1-sepate, solitary, monophialidic. Conidia 6–8.5 × 2–3.5 (x̄ = 7.3 × 2.7, n = 25) μm, hyaline, ellipsoidal to reniform, aseptate, bound in mucilaginous spheres. Mucilaginous spheres 9–25 (x̄ = 12.7, n = 25) μm in diam., forming on tip of phialides, globose, various in size, hyaline when immature, yellow-brown when mature.
Culture characteristics – Colonies on PDA reaching 3.5 cm after 30 days at 25 °C, brown, circular, velvety, margin entire, reverse white.
Material examined – Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, Mushroom researcher centre, on larva of Elateridae buried in soil, 13 August 2020, De-Ping Wei, MRC0812-1 (MFLU 22-0270), living culture MFLUCC 22-0188.
Notes – Ophiocordyceps sporangifera was introduced by Xiao et al. (2019) from larvae of Elateridae (Coleoptera) in Mushroom research center, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Our collection was obtained from the same area of the type specimen of O. sporangifera and its morphologies well fits with those described by Xiao et al. (2019) in the fibrous, brownish gray erect stromata which carry many secondary small branches and terminate in gray globose sporangia. The conidiophores was formed from the surface of host bodies under the ground, while it was observed from the small secondary branches and synnemata on culture in Xiao et al. (2019)’s study. The conidia are hyaline reinform and restricted in mucilaginous spheres that are hyaline in the young stage and become brown in the later stage. This conidial characteristic was found on this and Xiao et al. (2019)’s illustration. The multigene phylogeny also reveals our collection form a well-supported clade with the type specimen of O. sporangifera (MFLU 18-0658).
Ophiocordyceps sporangifera (MFLU 22-0270). a Epigeal synnema. b Synnema growing from host. c Fertile head bearing sporangia. d Braches of synnema. e Sporangia. f Spores in sporangia. g Germinating spores. h Hypogeal synnemata directly arising from surface of host body. i, j Close-up of synnemta. k Part of synnema. l, m Phialides bearing conidial mass. n Conidia enclosed by mucilaginous substance. o–q Conidia. Scale bars: h = 5000 µm, c, d = 2000 µm, i = 500 µm, e, j = 200 µm, f, g, k–n = 20 µm, o–q = 5 µm.
Reference:
Wei DP, Gentekaki E, Wanasinghe DN, Tang SM, Hyde KD. Diversity, molecular dating and ancestral characters state reconstruction of entomopathogenic fungi. Mycosphere. 13(2): 281–351.
Recent Genus
PerennicordycepsPleurocordyceps
Purpureocillium
Recent Species
Ophiocordyceps musicaudataOphiocordyceps liangii
Ophiocordyceps fenggangensis