Scientific communication is facilitated by a data-driven, scientifically sound taxonomy that considers the end-user’s needs and established successful practice. In 2013, the Fusarium community voiced near unanimous support for a concept of Fusarium that represented a clade comprising all agriculturally and clinically important Fusarium species, including the F. solani species complex (FSSC). Subsequently, this concept was challenged in 2015 by one research group who proposed dividing the genus Fusarium into seven genera, including the FSSC described as members of the genus Neocosmospora, with subsequent justification in 2018 based on claims that the 2013 concept of Fusarium is polyphyletic. Here, we test this claim and provide a phylogeny based on exonic nucleotide sequences of 19 orthologous protein-coding genes that strongly support the monophyly of Fusarium including the FSSC. We reassert the practical and scientific argument in support of a genus Fusarium that includes the FSSC and several other basal lineages, consistent with the longstanding use of this name among plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, students, and researchers with a stake in its taxonomy. In recognition of this monophyly, 40 species described as genus Neocosmospora were recombined in genus Fusarium, and nine others were renamed Fusarium. Here the global Fusarium community voices strong support for the inclusion of the FSSC in Fusarium, as it remains the best scientific, nomenclatural, and practical taxonomic option available.

Entomopathogenic fungi routinely kill their hosts before releasing infectious spores, but a few species keep insects alive while sporulating, which enhances dispersal. Transcriptomics- and metabolomics-based studies of entomopathogens with post-mortem dissemination from their parasitized hosts have unraveled infection processes and host responses. However, the mechanisms underlying active spore transmission by Entomophthoralean fungi in living insects remain elusive. Here we report the discovery, through metabolomics, of the plant-associated amphetamine, cathinone, in four Massospora cicadina-infected periodical cicada populations, and the mushroom-associated tryptamine, psilocybin, in annual cicadas infected with Massospora platypediae or Massospora levispora, which likely represent a single fungal species. The absence of some fungal enzymes necessary for cathinone and psilocybin biosynthesis along with the inability to detect intermediate metabolites or gene orthologs are consistent with possibly novel biosynthesis pathways in Massospora. The neurogenic activities of these compounds suggest the extended phenotype of Massospora that modifies cicada behavior to maximize dissemination is chemically-induced.

The success of some invasive tree species is attributed, in part, to high fecundity in the form of sexual propagules. If invasive trees produce more seed annually than co-occurring native trees, they will have a greater ability to disperse and establish across the landscape. In this study, seed production of female Ailanthus trees was investigated to determine (1) reproductive age limits; (2) annual and cumulative seed output; and (3) seed viability. Existing data on Ailanthus seed production were combined with a novel dataset to compare variability in seed production and explore relationships with tree diameter and age. Results from this study showed Ailanthus’ reproductive window is exceptional, spanning more than a century, with seed viability exceeding 65% from a 104-year-old individual. Germination studies and complementary tetrazolium assays also confirmed high propagule viability from a 7-year-old Ailanthus and supports tetrazolium assays as a proxy for germination studies. Not only can individual Ailanthus produce >1 million seeds annually, but a significant relationship exists between seed production and tree diameter. Using this relationship, cumulative seed production in individual Ailanthus can reach ca. 10 and 52 million seeds over a 40-year and 100-year period, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of various facets of the reproductive potential of Ailanthus.

Horizontal transmission of virulence attenuating hypoviruses of Cryphonectria parasitica is restricted by an allorecognition system termed vegetative incompatibility (vic). A super donor formulation of two engineered C. parasitica strains (SD328/SD82) with gene disruptions at four of six vic loci transmitted hypovirus to strains in the laboratory independent of vic genotype. We now report the transmission of hypovirus by the SD328/82 formulation to a diverse, natural C. parasitica population infecting American chestnut in a forest setting. Hypovirulent (HV) isolates were recovered from 94% of cankers treated with the hypovirus-infected SD328/82 formulation compared to 51% of cankers treated with a hypovirus-infected EU5/6 formulation (strains having the same vic genotypes as SD strains but lacking vic gene disruptions). Overall, the SD328/82 formulation transmitted hypovirus into more divergent vic genotypes compared to the EU5/6 formulation. These results demonstrate the SD328/82 formulation can serve as an enhanced hypovirus vector for highly divergent C. parasitica populations.