Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect<bold>-</bold>fungal associations

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F25%3A00636738" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/25:00636738 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407" target="_blank" >https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407" target="_blank" >10.1098/rspb.2025.0407</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect<bold>-</bold>fungal associations

Original language description

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.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10616 - Entomology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA21-06446S" target="_blank" >GA21-06446S: Do entomopathogenic fungi drive arthropod diversity gradients via host negative density dependence?</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences

ISSN

0962-8452

e-ISSN

1471-2954

Volume of the periodical

292

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2048

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

20250407

UT code for WoS article

001505532400005

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105008098625