Species diversity and major host–substrate associations of the genus Akanthomyces

Abstract

Abstract Akanthomyces, a group of fungi with rich morphological and ecological diversity in Cordycipitaceae (Ascomycota, Hypocreales), has a wide distribution among diverse habitats. By surveying arthropod-pathogenic fungi in China and Southeast Asia over the last six years, nine Akanthomyces spp. were found and identified. Four of these were new species, and they were named A. kunmingensis and A. subaraneicola from China, A. laosensis from Laos, and A. pseudonoctuidarum from Thailand, and they were described and illustrated according to the morphological characteristics and molecular data. Akanthomyces araneogenus, which is isolated from spiders from different regions in China, Thailand, and Vietnam, is described as a newly recorded species from Thailand and Vietnam. The phylogenetic positions of the nine species were evaluated based on phylogenetic inferences according to five loci, namely, ITS, nrLSU, TEF, RPB1, and RPB2. In this study, we reviewed the research progress achieved for Akanthomyces regarding its taxonomy, species diversity, geographic distribution, and major host–substrate associations. The morphological characteristics of 35 species in Akanthomyces, including four novel species and 31 known taxa, were also compared.