Cordyceps
| Cordyceps | |
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| Cordyceps militaris | |
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| Genus: | Cordyceps Fr. (1818)
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| Type species | |
| Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. (1818)
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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 Greek word κεφαλή cephali, 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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
Polysaccharide components and cordycepin are under basic research and have been isolated from C. militaris.[8][9]
Traditional Chinese medicine[edit]
Cordyceps are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine,[10] though there have been no well controlled randomized clinical trials in humans to date.[11]
Popular culture[edit]
Cordyceps is featured in the 2013 video game The Last of Us and its 2020 sequel as the source of cannibalistic creatures resulting from humans being infected by a mutated strain of it.
Gallery[edit]
Cordyceps beginning its growth from a wasp
Cordyceps militaris
Cordyceps militaris
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Cordyceps". 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.
- ^ a b "Cordyceps". 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. New York: Begell House. 10 (3): 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[edit]
- 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.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cordyceps. |
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Wikispecies has information related to Cordyceps |
- Video on how Cordyceps Infects and Kills Ants
- 8 Health Benefits of Cordyceps and Traditional Uses.[1]
- ^ "8 Health Benefits of Cordyceps and Traditional Uses. | Healths Naturals". Retrieved 2020-07-31.