Abstract
Hirsutella are globally distributed entomopathogenic fungi that offer important economic applications in biological control and biomedicine. Hirsutella was suppressed in favour of Ophiocordyceps affected by the ending of dual nomenclature for pleomorphic fungi in 2011. Currently, Hirsutella has been resurrected as a genus under Ophiocordycipitaceae. In this study, we introduce two new species of Hirsutella, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Hirsutellaflava and H.kuankuoshuiensis are pathogenic on different species of larval Lepidoptera in China. Hirsutellaflava primarily differs from related species by its awl-shaped base; long and narrow neck, 24–40.8 × 2.2–2.5 μm; long and narrow cymbiform or fusoid conidia, 6.5–10 × 2.1–4.3 μm. Hirsutellakuankuoshuiensis has two types of phialides and distinctive 9.9–12.6 × 2.7–4.5 μm, clavate or botuliform conidia. The distinctions amongst the new species and phylogenetic relationships with other Hirsutella species are discussed.
Highlights
The entomopathogenic fungal genus Hirsutella Pat. was erected by Patouillard (1892) based on the type species H. entomophila
The tree was constructed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian posterior probabilities with Tolypocladium inflatum and T. ophioglossoides as the outgroup taxa based on RPB1, tef1, internal transcribed spacer gene region (ITS), 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA gene datasets (SSU: 1391 bp, large subunit rDNA gene region (LSU): 903 bp, ITS: 721 bp, TEF1α: 946 bp and RPB2: 817 bp) (Fig. 1)
Hirsutella flava and H. kuankuoshuiensis formed a separate clade from the other species with credible bootstrap values (85% ML and 0.90 PP), suggesting that these two species are truly related
Summary
The entomopathogenic fungal genus Hirsutella Pat. was erected by Patouillard (1892) based on the type species H. entomophila. The size and shape of the hyaline conidia vary from citriform to oblong, subcylindric, globose, rhombic, or reniform (Luangsa-ard et al 2017; Quandt et al 2014). These taxa are important pathogens of agricultural pests and are used as popular traditional medicine and a nutritious food in many Asian countries (Evans 1974; Quandt et al 2014; Hyde et al 2019). Several common species of Hirsutella, such as H. thompsonii and H. rhossiliensis, are potentially important biological control agents for nematodes and mites (Jaffee 1992; Van der Geest 2010; Hyde et al 2019). Further uses involve the development and application of several effective bioactive secondary metabolites (Mazet and Vey 1995; Lang et al 2005; Qu et al 2017)
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