Ophiocordyceps neocommunis Y. Yang, K. D. Hyde & Y. P. Xiao, 2025

Ophiocordyceps neocommunis Y. Yang, K. D. Hyde & Y. P. Xiao sp. nov.

Fig. 4 View Figure 4

Etymology.

The epithet “ neocommunis ” refers to the new species’ similarity to its close relative, O. communis.

Holotype.

China • Guizhou Province, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Rongjiang County, at 382 masl, 25.934°N, 108.479°E, parasitic on termites in soil, 10 June 2023, Yu Yang ( HKAS 132236 ). GoogleMaps

Description

( HKAS 132236 ). Parasitic on termite ( Blattodea : superfamily Blattoidea ), buried in the soil, the synnemata erect in the air. Sexual morph not observed in natural substrates and in culture on PDA. Asexual morph: Hirsutella - like, the host covered with white mycelium. Synnemata 3–6 cm long, white to yellow bottom to top. Conidiophores absent. Phialides single, borne laterally on synnemata, smooth, hyaline 6.5–12.5 × 3–4.5 µm (x – = 9.5 × 3.8 µm, n = 50), basal part strongly swollen, globose, subglobose, or ellipsoid 4.5–8.5 × 3.5–4.8 µm (x – = 6.5 × 4.2 µm, n = 50), usually tapering abruptly to a slender neck 0.5–1.2 µm diam. Conidia 3.0–5.5 × 2.2–4.2 µm (x – = 4.2 × 3.2 µm, n = 50), 1 - cell, hyaline, oval to teardrop-shaped.

Cultural characteristics.

Colonies on PDA grow slowly, reaching 2 cm in diameter after 25 days at 25 ° C, ivory yellow, flat, and closely appressed to the agar surface. Synnemata are produced after 40 days, with the reverse side showing a warm orange. No phialides or conidia found.

Additional material.

CHINA, Guizhou Province, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Rongjiang County, at 382 masl, 25.934°N, 108.479°E, parasitic on termites in soil, 10 June 2023, Yu Yang, RJ 2363 J ( GZCC 24-0158 ; ex-type living culture) GoogleMaps .

Notes.

Ophiocordyceps neocommunis clustered with O. communis and Hirsutella minnesotensis in the phylogenetic tree, supported by 100 % MLBP and 1.00 PP (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). Notably, the differences between O. communis and H. minnesotensis are minimal, as indicated by the short branch length in the phylogenetic tree. However, further evidence is needed to determine whether they represent the same species. Ophiocordyceps communis shares its host, termites ( Blattodea , superfamily Blattoidea ), with O. neocommunis but differs in the morphology of its phialides. Specifically, O. communis produces longer and narrower phialides, as well as longer conidia ( Sung et al. 2007 b; Table 4 View Table 4 ). Hirsutella minnesotensis is distinct from O. neocommunis , as it is isolated from second-stage juveniles of the soybean cyst nematode and has longer phialides (9–15 µm vs. 6.5–12.5 µm) ( Chen et al. 2000). Comparing the ITS, tef- 1 α, rpb 1, and rpb 2 sequences of Ophiocordyceps neocommunis and O. communis revealed 98.83 % (6 bp differences), 97.57 % (22 bp differences), 98.59 % (10 bp differences), and 98.76 % (13 bp differences) sequence similarities, respectively. Comparing the ITS sequences of Ophiocordyceps neocommunis and Hirsutella minnesotensis revealed 98.83 % (6 bp differences). Thus, we would like to introduce Ophiocordyceps neocommunis as a new species based on phylogenetic and morphological analyses.