Metarhizium

Metarhizium
Cockroach killed by Metarhizium anisopliae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Subkingdom:	Dikarya
Phylum:	Ascomycota
Class:	Sordariomycetes
Order:	Hypocreales
Family:	Clavicipitaceae
Genus:	Metarhizium Sorokīn
Type species
Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokīn

Metarhizium is a genus of entomopathogenic fungi in the Clavicipitaceae family. With the advent of genetic profiling, it has now become possible to place these fungi in proper taxa. Most turn out to be the asexual forms (anamorphs) of fungi in the phylum Ascomycota.

Species

Nine distinct species have now been assigned to the well-known Metarhizium anisopliae^[1]:

• M. anisopliae that includes many isolates previously described as M. anisopliae var. anisopliae
• M. guizhouense (syn. M. taii)
• M. pingshaense
• M. acridum stat. nov. (= M. anisopliae var. acridum)
• M. lepidiotae stat. nov. (= M. anisopliae var. lepidiotae)
• M. majus stat. nov. (= M. anisopliae var. major)
• M. globosum sp. nov.
• M. robertsii sp. nov.
• M. brunneum

Species long recognised as distinct:

• M. album
• M. flavoviride
• M. frigidum

The teleomorphs of Metarhizium species appear to be members of the genus Metacordyceps^[2]. Metacordyceps taii (as Cordyceps taii) has been described as the teleomorph of Metarhizium taii^[3] and was later synonymised with M. anisopliae var. anisopliae^[4], but it is now described as a synonym of M. guizhouense.

It is not yet clear whether the other varieties of M. anisopliae have their own teleomorphs. It is, however, possible that some, if not most, strains of M. anisopliae have lost the capability of reproducing sexually^[5].

References

1. ^ Bischoff J.F., Rehner S.A. Humber R.A. (2009). "A multilocus phylogeny of the Metarhizium anisopliae lineage". Mycologia 101 (4): 512–530. doi:10.3852/07-202. PMID 19623931. 
2. ^ Sung, G.-H., Hywel-Jones, N.L., Sung, J.-M., Luangsa-ard, J.J., Shrestha, B. and Spatafora1, J.W. (2007). "Phylogenetic classification of Cordyceps and the clavicipitaceous fungi". Studies in Mycology 57: 5–59. doi:10.3114/sim.2007.57.01. PMC 2104736. PMID 18490993. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2104736. 
3. ^ Liang, Z.-Q., Liu, A.-Y., Liu, J.-L. (1991). "A new species of the genus Cordyceps and its Metarhizium anamorph". Acta Mycologica Sinica 10: 257–262. 
4. ^ Huang B., Li C., Humber R.A., Hodge K.T., Fan M. and Li Z. (2005). "Molecular evidence for the taxonomic status of Metarhizium taii and its teleomorph, Cordyceps taii (Hypocreales, Clavicipitaceae)". Mycotaxon 94: 137–147. 
5. ^ ?

External links

• Index Fungorum