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Harposporium incensis sp. nov., a South American cordycipitoid species exhibiting inter-phylum host-jumping and ... - EurekAlert


The genus of Harposporium belongs to the Ascomycota of the Fungi kingdom, the class Sortariomycetes, the order Hypocreales, and the family Ophiocordyceiaceae, is a common genus of soil fungi. The species of Harposporium are pathogens of nematodes, with some also infecting rotifers or tardigrades, and has significant ecological value. In recent years, studies have shown that a few species of the genus Harposporium can also parasitize insects or other invertebrates, such as H. janus, which can infect beetles in the Coleoptera family. However, so far, it has not been found that the same species in this genus can parasitize different invertebrates in both sexual and asexual stages. Is there a sexual and asexual stage of species in the genus Harposporium that can infect insects and nematodes, respectively? These two types of invertebrates have different ecological niches, including microhabitats, trophic modes, ecological adaptation, behavior, as well as epizootiology. Further research is needed on how pathogenic fungi achieve host jumping.

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