Disentangling the Taxonomy, Systematics, and Life History of the Spider-Parasitic Fungus Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales).

ABSTRACT: Gibellula (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 Gibellula 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 Gibellula, 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. Theref

SUBMITTER: Mendes-Pereira T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10146611 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature