Tag: fungal diversity

Inside the Hidden World of Spider-Attacking Fungi

Newly discovered groups of “zombie” fungi have been found to mummify spiders and adapt their physical forms.

Deep within the humid leaf litter of China and the dense canopies of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a silent ambush unfolds. 

While we often think of spiders as the ultimate predators of the undergrowth, they have an arch-nemesis: araneopathogenic fungi. These “zombie” fungi are capable of parasitising spiders by hijacking their bodies and consuming them from the inside out.

Two studies published in the open-access peer-reviewed scientific journals MycoKeys and IMA Fungus, respectively, offer insight into this macabre world of spider assassins.

In Southeast Asia, researchers led by Chen-xin Chang of the Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have identified three new species of Gibellula fungi in China and Laos, which erupt from spiders in branch-like structures: Gibellula pseudopigmentosa, Gibellula pseudosolita, and Gibellula sinensis. These species are distinguished from one another by their slight variations in sexual reproductive structures and morphology. The below figure displays morphological plates, showing the three fungi species at both a macroscopic and microscopic level – notice their unique conidial heads and spore arrangements, coloured in blue.

  • Morphologies of Gibellula pseudopigmentosa, Gibellula pseudopigmentosa, Gibellula pseudosolita, and Gibellula sinensis. Photo credit: Chang et al.

To identify new species of spider-pathogenic fungi, the research group conducted field surveys in the forest leaf of China and Laos, where they collected specimens for detailed laboratory study. A combination of traditional microscopy and modern DNA sequencing rendered the discovery possible. The fungi’s sighting in Laos is particularly significant because it provides the first formal record of the Gibellula genus in the region. 

This study – published in MycoKeys – therefore serves to fill a major distributional gap in Southeast Asia, as well as expand our understanding of the morphological diversity within this group of spider-pathogenic fungi.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, a study led by Joao Paulo Machado De Araújo of the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, published in IMA Fungus, described a new species of Purpureocillium fungus belonging to the Purpureocillium atypicola group: Purpureocillium atlanticum. This fungus specifically targets trapdoor spiders inhabiting burrows on the forest floor, where it mummifies the host in white mycelia and subsequently emerges from its cephalothorax in the form of a purple fruiting body. 

The discovery was notably featured in The Guardian, where it was placed alongside other unusual botanical and fungal discoveries compiled by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Phylogeny of hypocrealean fungi (A), highlighting the Purpureocillium atypicola complex (B) and morphology of the new species, P. atlanticum (C–G). Photo credit: Araújo et al.

Purpureocillium atypicola was originally recorded in Japan by Yasuda (1894), and was thought to be a single species found all over the world for over a century. The discovery of the Purpureocillium atlanticum in Brazil is significant because it finally confirms that Purpureocillium atypicola is actually a global complex of many unique species. 

To identify this new fungus, De Araújo’s research group used taxogenomics, a method which entailed bringing portable DNA sequencing gear directly into the Brazilian rainforest. By analysing the genetic code of the fungus and its environment immediately in the field, they were able to identify the specimen within just four days as opposed to waiting months for traditional lab results.

Both of these studies highlight the impressive diversity of spider-pathogenic fungi across distinct global environments. They additionally reveal the different evolutionary strategies of their respective species – while Purpureocillium atlanticum has adapted to infect underground trapdoor spiders by producing purple stalks to escape burrows, the Gibellula species represent the most diverse genus of spider parasites, found primarily in forest debris. 

As researchers continue to map these complex ecological networks, it becomes clear that preserving threatened biomes, including the Atlantic Forest and the jungles of Southeast Asia, is critical to expanding our knowledge in fungal taxonomy.

Original studies: 

Araújo JPM, Przelomska NAS, Smith RJ, Drechsler-Santos ER, Alves-Silva G, Martins-Cunha K, Hosoya T, Luangsa-ard JJ, Perrigo A, Repullés M, Matos-Maraví P, Woods R, Pérez-Escobar OA, Antonelli A (2025) A new species of Purpureocillium (Ophiocordycipitaceae) fungus parasitizing trapdoor spiders in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and its associated microbiome revealed through in situ “taxogenomics”. IMA Fungus 16: e168534. https://doi.org/10.3897/imafungus.16.168534

Chang C-xin, Chen H, Loinheuang C, Dai Y-dong, Wang Y (2026) Morphological and phylogenetic analyses reveal three new species of Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) from spiders. MycoKeys 127: 135-154. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.127.177871

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Top 50 most wanted fungi: New search function zooms in on the dark fungal diversity

There are many millions of undescribed fungi, and public DNA sequence databases contain thousands of fungal sequences that cannot be assigned to any known fungal group with confidence. Many of these sequences have defied robust taxonomic assignment for more than 10 years.

Frustrated at this situation, an international group of researchers presents a search functionin the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi. Its aim is to highlight the fungi we know the least about, and invite the scientific community to resolve their taxonomic affiliation. The effort seeks to bridge the substantial knowledge gap between fungal taxonomy and molecular ecology through a list, the authors refer to as the “50 Most Wanted Fungi”. Their work is presented in a new research paper published in the open-access journal MycoKeys.

Some 100,000 species of fungi have been described formally, although current estimates put the number of extant fungal species to at least 6 million. There is clearly no shortage of research venues in the study of fungi – but are there other shortages? The vast dark fungal diversity unravelled with molecular techniques hints that the interaction between fungal taxonomy and DNA sequencing of environmental substrates such as soil and water is not necessarily optimal.

“There is no taxonomic feedback loop in place to highlight the presence of these enigmatic lineages to the mycological community, and they often end up in sequence databases for years without attracting significant research interest,” explain the authors. “More than 10 years in some cases, as a matter of fact.”

Therefore, the researchers, led by Dr Henrik Nilsson, University of Gothenburg, now present a search function that produces lists of approximately genus-level clusters of fungal DNA sequences whose taxonomic affiliation we know next to nothing about. These lists are recomputed on a monthly basis, accounting for any updates and additions contributed by the scientific community in between each iteration. Community participation is encouraged, and the UNITE database has extensive support for third-party annotation.

By putting the spotlight on these fungal lineages, Dr Nilsson and colleagues hope to speed up the study and formal description of the underlying species. To support researchers focusing on select groups of fungi or environments, a set of keyword-filtered lists is provided. This allows researchers to zoom in on unknown fungi recovered, for example, from the built environment or aquatic habitats.

Commenting on their choice of a name for the list, the researchers clarify that the underlying fungi are not guilty of any crime. “Indeed, nothing can be said of the way they make a living. It is simply not known. We make no claim as to the importance of these fungi from whatever point of view – ecological, economic, or otherwise,” they stress. “We do make claim to their uniqueness, though, because it is frustrating, in the year 2016, not to be able to assign a name to a fungal sequence even at the phylum level.”

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“We hope that the present publication will serve to put the spotlight on these uncharted parts of the fungal tree of life, and we invite the reader to examine them through our online tools or otherwise,” they conclude.

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Original source:

Nilsson RH, Wurzbacher C, Bahram M, Coimbra VRM, Larsson E, Tedersoo L, Eriksson J, Duarte Ritter C, Svantesson S, Sánchez-García M, Ryberg M, Kristiansson E, Abarenkov K (2016) Top 50 most wanted fungi. MycoKeys 12: 29-40. doi: 10.3897/mycokeys.12.7553