Multigene phylogeny and morphology reveal Ophiocordyceps hydrangea sp. nov. and Ophiocordyceps bidoupensis sp. nov. (Ophiocordycipitaceae)

Abstract

Ophiocordyceps species have a wide range of insect hosts, from solitary beetle larva to social insects. However, among the species of Ophiocordyceps, only a few attack cicada nymphs. These species are mainly clustered in the Ophiocordyceps sobolifera clade in Ophiocordyceps. A new entomopathogenic fungus parasitic on cicada nymphs, and another fungus parasitic on the larva of Coleoptera, are described in this study. The two new species viz. Ophiocordyceps hydrangea and Ophiocordyceps bidoupensis were introduced based on morphology and multigene phylogenetic evidence. The phylogenetic framework of Ophiocordyceps was reconstructed using a multigene (nrSSU, nr LSU, tef-1α, rpb1, and rpb2) dataset. The phylogenetic analyses results showed that O. hydrangea and O. bidoupensis were statistically well-supported in the O. sobolifera clade, forming two separate subclades from other species of Ophiocordyceps. The distinctiveness of these two new species was strongly supported by both molecular phylogeny and morphology.