ABSTRACT The fungal genus Massospora (Zoopagomycota: Entomophthorales) includes more than a dozen obligate, sexually transmissible pathogenic species that infect cicadas (Hemiptera) worldwide. At least two species are known to produce psychoactive compounds during infection, which has garnered considerable interest for this enigmatic genus. As with many Entomophthorales, the evolutionary relationships and host associations of Massospora spp. are not well understood. The acquisition of M. diceroproctae from Arizona, M. tettigatis from Chile, and M. platypediae from California and Colorado provided an opportunity to conduct molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological studies to investigate whether these fungi represent a monophyletic group and delimit species boundaries. In a three-locus phylogenetic analysis including the D1–D2 domains of the nuclear 28S rRNA gene (28S), elongation factor 1 alpha-like (EFL), and beta-tubulin (BTUB), Massospora was resolved in a strongly supported monophyletic group containing four well-supported genealogically exclusive lineages, based on two of three methods of phylogenetic inference. There was incongruence among the single-gene trees: two methods of phylogenetic inference recovered trees with either the same topology as the three-gene concatenated tree (EFL) or a basal polytomy (28S, BTUB). Massospora levispora and M. platypediae isolates formed a single lineage in all analyses and are synonymized here as M. levispora. Massospora diceroproctae was sister to M. cicadina in all three single-gene trees and on an extremely long branch relative to the other Massospora, and even the outgroup taxa, which may reflect an accelerated rate of molecular evolution and/or incomplete taxon sampling. The results of the morphological study presented here indicate that spore measurements may not be phylogenetically or diagnostically informative. Despite recent advances in understanding the ecology of Massospora, much about its host range and diversity remains unexplored. The emerging phylogenetic framework can provide a foundation for exploring coevolutionary relationships with cicada hosts and the evolution of behavior-altering compounds.

中文翻译：

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Massospora spp. 之间的进化关系。（昆虫纲），蝉的专性病原体

摘要 真菌属 Massospora (Zoopagomycota: Entomophthorales) 包括十几种专性的、可性传播的致病物种，它们在世界范围内感染蝉 (Hemiptera)。已知至少有两个物种在感染期间会产生精神活性化合物，这引起了人们对这个神秘属的极大兴趣。与许多昆虫纲一样， Massospora spp 的进化关系和宿主关联。不太了解。从亚利桑那州收购 M. diceroproctae、从智利收购 M. tettigatis 以及从加利福尼亚州和科罗拉多州收购 M. platypediae，为进行分子系统发育分析和形态学研究以调查这些真菌是否代表单系群并划定物种边界提供了机会。在包括核 28S rRNA 基因 (28S)、延伸因子 1 α 样 (EFL) 和 β-微管蛋白 (BTUB) 的 D1-D2 结构域的三基因座系统发育分析中，大孢子菌被解析为一个强烈支持的单系群基于三种系统发育推断方法中的两种，包含四个得到充分支持的谱系专属谱系。单基因树之间存在不一致：两种系统发育推断方法恢复的树具有与三基因连接树 (EFL) 或基础多聚体 (28S, BTUB) 相同的拓扑结构。Massospora levispora 和 M. platypediae 分离株在所有分析中形成单一谱系，在此同义为 M. levispora。Massospora diceroproctae 在所有三种单基因树中都是 M. cicadina 的姐妹，并且相对于其他 Massospora，在一个极长的分支上，甚至外群分类群，这可能反映了分子进化的加速和/或不完整的分类单元采样。此处介绍的形态学研究结果表明，孢子测量可能无法提供系统发育或诊断信息。尽管最近在了解 Massospora 的生态学方面取得了进展，但关于其寄主范围和多样性的大部分内容仍未得到探索。新兴的系统发育框架可以为探索与蝉宿主的共同进化关系和改变行为的化合物的进化提供基础。尽管最近在了解 Massospora 的生态学方面取得了进展，但关于其寄主范围和多样性的大部分内容仍未得到探索。新兴的系统发育框架可以为探索与蝉宿主的共同进化关系和改变行为的化合物的进化提供基础。尽管最近在了解 Massospora 的生态学方面取得了进展，但关于其寄主范围和多样性的大部分内容仍未得到探索。新兴的系统发育框架可以为探索与蝉宿主的共同进化关系和改变行为的化合物的进化提供基础。