Ophiocordyceps hydrangea H. Yu, W.Q. Zou & D.X. Tang, 2022

Zou, Weiqiu, Tang, Dexiang, Xu, Zhihong, Huang, Ou, Wang, Yuanbing, Tran, Ngoc-Lan & Yu, Hong, 2022, Multigene phylogeny and morphology reveal Ophiocordyceps hydrangea sp. nov. and Ophiocordyceps bidoupensis sp. nov. (Ophiocordycipitaceae), MycoKeys 92, pp. 109-130 : 109

Ophiocordyceps hydrangea H. Yu, W.Q. Zou & D.X. Tang sp. nov.

Fig. 2

Etymology.

Hydrangea, referred to the top of the stroma similar to Ophiocordyceps hydrangea .

Holotype.

China, Yunnan Province, Jinghong City, Nabanhe National Nature Reserve, 22°8'21.32"N, 100°42'18.35"E, alt. 612 m, on cicada nymphs ( Cicadidae , Hemiptera ). The material was found in the soil of an evergreen broad-leaved forest, 18 August 2020, H. Yu (YHH 20081, holotype; YFCC 8834, ex-holotype culture).

Sexual morph.

The stroma was grown from the head of the host cicada nymph, solitary, the top of the stroma similar to Ophiocordyceps hydrangea , pale pink, 1.6-6.4 cm long. Sexual morph was not observed.

Asexual morph.

The colony grew slowly on PDA medium. Cultured at 25 °C for about 12 weeks, the diameter of the colony was 25-28 mm, pale pink, the edge white, hard texture. The back of the colony was white to brown. Surface hyphae rough, hyaline, septate. Conidiophores were cylindrical. Conidiogenous cells were solitary or whorled, ampuliform, smooth-walled, forming on conidiophores or colonies, hyaline, with swollen base, and slender top, 10.6-17.6 µm long, 2.9-4.3 µm wide at the swollen base, and 1.1-2.2 µm wide at the slender top. Conidia hyaline, ovoid or long oval, solitary, 6.8-10.1 × 3.3-4.5 µm.

Host.

Cicada nymph ( Cicadidae , Hemiptera ).

Habitat.

In the soil of an evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Distribution.

China.

Other material examined.

China, Yunnan Province, Jinghong City, Nabanhe National Nature Reserve , 22°8'21.32"N, 100°42'18.35"E, alt. 612 m, on cicada nymphs ( Cicadidae , Hemiptera ) was found in the soil an evergreen broad-leaved forest, 18 August 2020, H. Yu (YFCC 8832, YFCC 8833) .

Notes.

Phylogenetic analyses showed that O. hydrangea clustered with O. sobolifera , O. longissima , and O. yakusimensis of the O. sobolifera clade (Fig. 1 ). Their hosts were cicada nymphs compared to other species of the O. sobolifera clade (Table 2 ). Ophiocordyceps hydrangea was well supported by BI and ML results, forming a separate subclade with O. sobolifera , O. longissima , and O. yakusimensis . The macro-morphology of O. hydrangea was clearly different from O. sobolifera , O. longissima , O. khonkaenensis , and O. yakusimensis . The stroma of O. hydrangea grew from the head of the host cicada nymph, solitary, and the top of the stroma was like a pale pink Ophiocordyceps hydrangea .

Figures

Figure 1. Phylogenetic relationships of Ophiocordyceps hydrangea and related species from the five genes dataset (nr LSU, nr SSU, tef- 1 α, rpb 1, and rpb 2) based on ML and BI analyses. Statistical support values of BI posterior probabilities and ML bootstrap proportions (0.5 / ≥ 50 %) are shown at the nodes.

Figure 2. Ophiocordyceps hydrangea A, B fungus on a cicada nymph C, D colony on PDA medium E conidiophores, conidiogenous cells and conidia F-J conidiogenous cells and conidia K conidia. Scale bars: 1 cm (A, B); 2 cm (C, D); 10 µm (E, F, G, I, J); 5 µm (H, K).