Cordyceps
Cordyceps | |
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Cordyceps militaris | |
Scientific classification | |
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Genus: | Cordyceps Fr. (1818)
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Type species | |
Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. (1818)
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Species[1] | |
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Cordyceps /ˈkɔːrdɪsɛps/ is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 400 species. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi.[2] The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the Greek word κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Latin word caput, meaning "head".[citation needed]
The genus has a worldwide distribution and most of the approximately 400 species[3] that have been described are from Asia (notably Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand). Cordyceps species are particularly abundant and diverse in humid temperate and tropical forests.
Subtaxa
There are two recognized subgenera:[4]
- Cordyceps subgen. Cordyceps Fr. 1818[5]
- Cordyceps subgen. Cordylia Tul. & C. Tul. 1865[6]
Cordyceps subgen. Epichloe was at one time a subgenus, but is currently regarded as a separate genus, Epichloë.[4]
C. sinensis was shown in 2007 by nuclear DNA sampling to be unrelated to most of the rest of the members of the genus; as a result it was renamed Ophiocordyceps sinensis and placed in a new family, the Ophiocordycipitaceae, as was "Cordyceps unilateralis".[7] Other species previously included in the genus Cordyceps have now been placed in the genus Tolypocladium.[citation needed]
Cordyceps and Metacordyceps spp. are now thought to be the teleomorphs of a number of anamorphic, entomopathogenic fungus "genera" such as: Beauveria (Cordyceps bassiana), Lecanicillium, Metarhizium and Nomuraea.[citation needed]
Biology
When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue, while the elongated fruit body (ascocarp) may be cylindrical, branched, or of complex shape. The ascocarp bears many small, flask-shaped perithecia containing asci. These, in turn, contain thread-like ascospores, which usually break into fragments and are presumably infective.[citation needed]
Research
Polysaccharide components and cordycepin are under basic research and have been isolated from C. militaris.[8][9]
Traditional Chinese medicine
Cordyceps are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine,[10] though there have been no well controlled randomized clinical trials in humans to date.[11]
In Popular Culture
Cordyceps is featured in the 2013 video game The Last Of Us and its sequel as the source of cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated strain of Cordyceps. The game received universal acclaim - often considered one of the greatest games of all time - and sold over 1.3 million copies in its first seven days. The game follows Joel, a smuggler given the task of escorting fourteen-year-old Ellie across a post-apocalyptic USA.
Gallery
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Cordyceps beginning its growth from a wasp
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Cordyceps militaris
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Cordyceps militaris
References
- ^ "Cordyceps" (HTML). NCBI taxonomy. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Nikoh, N (April 2000). "Interkingdom host jumping underground: phylogenetic analysis of entomoparasitic fungi of the genus cordyceps". Mol Biol Evol. 17 (4): 629–38. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026341. PMID 10742053.
- ^ Sung, Gi-Ho; Nigel L. Hywel-Jones; Jae-Mo Sung; J. Jennifer Luangsa-ard; Bhushan Shrestha; Joseph W. Spatafora (2007). "Phylogenetic classification of Cordyceps and the clavicipitaceous fungi". Stud Mycol. 57 (1): 5–59. doi:10.3114/sim.2007.57.01. PMC 2104736. PMID 18490993.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Cordyceps" (html). Index Fungorum. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Elias Magnus Fries, Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 2: 316 (cancellans) (1818)
- ^ Edmond Tulasne & Charles Tulasne, Select. fung. carpol. (Paris) 3: 20 (1865)
- ^ Holliday, John; Cleaver, Matt (2008). "Medicinal Value of the Caterpillar Fungi Species of the Genus Cordyceps (Fr.) Link (Ascomycetes). A Review" (PDF). International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 10 (3). New York: Begell House: 219–234. doi:10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v10.i3.30. ISSN 1521-9437. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
- ^ Khan, MA; Tania, M; Zhang, D; Chen, H (May 2010). "Cordyceps Mushroom: A Potent Anticancer Nutraceutical" (PDF). The Open Nutraceuticals Journal. 3: 179–183. doi:10.2174/1876396001003010179. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012.
- ^ Nakamura, K; Shinozuka, K; Yoshikawa, N (2015). "Anticancer and antimetastatic effects of cordycepin, an active component of Cordyceps sinensis". Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. 127 (1): 53–6. doi:10.1016/j.jphs.2014.09.001. PMID 25704018.
- ^ Yue, K; Ye, M; Zhou, Z; Sun, W; Lin, X (April 2013). "The genus Cordyceps: a chemical and pharmacological review". The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 65 (4): 474–93. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7158.2012.01601.x. PMID 23488776.
- ^ Olatunji, OJ; Tang, J; Tola, A; Auberon, F; Oluwaniyi, O; Ouyang, Z (September 2018). "The genus Cordyceps: An extensive review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology". Fitoterapia. 129: 293–316. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2018.05.010. PMID 29775778.
Further reading
- Bensky, D.; Gamble, A.; Clavey, S.; Stoger, E.; Lai Bensky, L. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (3rd ed.). Seattle: Eastland Press. ISBN 978-0-939616-42-8.
- Kobayasi, Y. (1941). "The genus Cordyceps and its allies". Science Reports of the Tokyo Bunrika Daigaku, Sect. B. 5: 53–260. ISSN 0371-3547.
- Mains, E. B. (1957). "Species of Cordyceps parasitic on Elaphomyces". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 84 (4): 243–251. doi:10.2307/2482671. ISSN 0040-9618. JSTOR 2482671.
- Mains, E. B. (1958). "North American entomogenous species of Cordyceps". Mycologia. 50 (2): 169–222. doi:10.2307/3756193. ISSN 0027-5514. JSTOR 3756193.
- Tzean, S. S.; Hsieh, L. S.; Wu, W. J. (1997). Atlas of entomopathogenic fungi from Taiwan. Taiwan: Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan.
- Paterson, R. R. M. (2008). "Cordyceps - a traditional Chinese medicine and another fungal therapeutic biofactory?" (PDF). Phytochemistry. 69 (7): 1469–1495. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.01.027. hdl:1822/7896. PMC 7111646. PMID 18343466.