Clavicipitoid fungi comprise three families, namely Clavicipitaceae, Cordycipitaceae, and Ophiocordycipitaceae. They are found worldwide specialized pathogens of invertebrate, plant fungal hosts. Over the last decade, morphology- phylogeny-based studies on clavicipitoid have increased. The latter revealed that Polycephalomyces, Perennicordyceps Pleurocordyceps consistently cluster together. The...

Symbioses of grasses and fungal endophytes constitute an interesting model for evolution of mutualism and parasitism. Grasses of all subfamilies can harbor systemic infections by fungi of the family Clavicipitaceae. Subfamily Poöideae is specifically associated with epichloë endophytes (species of Epichloë and their asexual derivatives, the Neotyphodium species) in intimate symbioses often char...

Section Prostrata of the genus Verticillium was introduced by GAMS (1971) to separate verticillium-like anamorphs of the Clavicipitaceae from other species of the genus that were known or supposed to have affinities with other families of the Hypocreales. Other sections of Verticillium were subsequently described by GAMS & VAN ZAAYEN (1982). MESSNER et al. (1996) showed that the most important ...

Cannibalism is common among the Acrididae and the Mormon cricket, Anabrus simplex Haldeman (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). This behavior has been proposed as a mechanism for the horizontal transmission of Microsporida and entomopathogenic fungi. Aanecdotal observations suggested that the migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes Fabricius (Acrididae), and A. simplex did not eat cadavers that h...