Ancient Fungi' Ancient Host Shifts

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Ophiocordyceps fungi

Phys Org

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Science

Fossil fungi trapped in amber reveal ancient origin of parasitic zombie-ants

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86% Informative

Fossilized entomopathogenic fungi from mid-Cretaceous amber reveal some of the oldest direct evidence of parasitic relationships between fungi and insects.

Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers say fossilized fungi originated approximately 133 million years ago and underwent early host shifts that shaped their evolution.

Insects have evolved extraordinary ways to turn insects into unwitting accomplices in their own demise.

Ophiocordyceps likely emerged during the Early Cretaceous, about 133.25 million years ago .

Ancestral state reconstructions suggest that the genus initially parasitized beetles before undergoing host shifts to Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera .

Researchers inferred these transitions coincided with the diversification of moths and ants, which offered new ecological opportunities for fungal specialization.

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