PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - João P. M. Araújo
AU  - Harry C. Evans
AU  - David M. Geiser
AU  - David P. Hughes
TI  - Unravelling the diversity behind <em>Ophiocordyceps unilateralis</em> complex: Three new species of Zombie-Ant fungus from Brazilian Amazon
AID  - 10.1101/003806
DP  - 2014 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 003806
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2014/04/03/003806.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2014/04/03/003806.full
AB  - In Tropical forests, one of the most common relationships between parasites and insects occur between the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota) and ants, especially attacking species within the tribe Camponotini. These fungus have the ability to penetrate through the host’s cuticle and manipulate their behavior, making them leave their nests to die biting onto an elevated leaf, in order to facilitate the fungus development and further spore discharge. Despite their importance for the ecosystem maintenance, this group of fungal pathogens is still poorly documented regarding their diversity, ecology and evolutionary relationships. The three species documented here could be readily separate based in macroscopic features such as ascospores, external morphology and hosts. In addition, we provide the phylogenetic relationships between them, close related species and members of the Ophiocordycipitaceae family.