Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations

KIZ OpenIR > 遗传资源与进化国家重点实验室 > 保护遗传学(细胞库)

	Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations
	Zhuang, YH; Luo, CH; Tang, DX; de Araújo, JPM; Yu, H; Zhao, J; Haelewaters, D; Nyunt, TT; Zhang, QQ; Jarzembowski, EA; Meng, GL; Ran, H; Liu, Y; Wang, B
	2025
发表期刊	Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci.
ISSN	0962-8452
卷号	292 期号:2048
摘要	Throughout evolution, entomopathogenic (insect-pathogenic) fungi have played a pivotal role in regulating insect populations. However, little is known about ancient entomopathogenic fungi due to the scarcity of fossils displaying typical pathogenic structures on their presumed hosts. Here, we report two new fungi, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae sp. nov. and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (approx. 99 million years old). They share common traits with Ophiocordyceps and are associated with an ant pupa and a fly, respectively. These fossils are among the oldest fossil records of animal-pathogenic fungi. In addition, we performed a divergence time estimation analysis showing that Ophiocordyceps likely originated during the Early Cretaceous. We further compiled the hosts of extant Ophiocordyceps and inferred the evolution of host associations within the genus based on ancestral character state reconstruction. Our results suggest that Ophiocordyceps made a host jump from Coleoptera to Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera during the Cretaceous, and its subsequent speciation was probably related to the increase in diversity and abundance of its moth and ant hosts. Our results not only highlight the ecological significance of pathogenic fungi in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems, but also provide new insights into the coevolution between entomopathogenic fungi and host insects.
收录类别	SCIE
语种	英语
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://ir.kiz.ac.cn/handle/152453/15128
专题	遗传资源与进化国家重点实验室_保护遗传学(细胞库)
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhuang, YH,Luo, CH,Tang, DX,et al. Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations[J]. Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci.,2025,292(2048).
APA	Zhuang, YH.,Luo, CH.,Tang, DX.,de Araújo, JPM.,Yu, H.,...&Wang, B.(2025).Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations.Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci.,292(2048).
MLA	Zhuang, YH,et al."Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations".Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 292.2048(2025).

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