Abstract
Ophiocordyceps sinensis Berk. is a fungal parasite that parasitizes the larvae of Hepialidae and is endemic to the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). The phylogeny and divergence time of O. sinensis and its host insects were analyzed for 137 individuals from 48 O. sinensis populations based on the elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1α) gene. Lower nucleotide variation, with only 7 and 16 EF-1α haplotypes, was detected in O. sinensis and its host insects, respectively. The isolated and broad distribution patterns coexisted in both O. sinensis and its host insects on the QTP. The divergence time estimates show that O. sinensis and its host insects originated later than 14.33 million years (Myr) and earlier than 23.60 Myr in the Miocene period, and the major differentiation occurred later than 4 Myr. Their origin and differentiation match well with the second and third uplifts of the QTP, respectively. The host insects from the O. sinensis populations distributed around Qinghai Lake are inferred as an ancient and relict species that has survived various geological events of the QTP. It is suitable to estimate the divergence times of both O. sinensis and its host insects from the same individuals using one gene: EF-1α. Our findings of the origin, phylogeny, and evolution of the endemic species also support the epoch of geological events on the QTP.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81673526).
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ZC conceived this study. SL, ZX and LC carried out the experimental work and data analysis. YZ and ZC guided the experiments. SL, ZX and WW drafted the manuscript. ZC reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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203_2023_3444_MOESM1_ESM.png
Supplementary file1 Time-calibrated phylogeny of O. sinensis and its host insects using the EF-1α gene sequences based on P. coccophagus. The dataset of the EF-1α gene sequences included the seven haplotypes of O. sinensis, the 16 haplotypes of the host insects, 30 species of the genus Ophiocordyceps, and 49 species of the family Nymphalidae (Table S4). P. coccophagus (102 Myr; 99–105 Myr) was used as the crown calibration point (Sung et al., 2008) (PNG 335 KB)
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Supplementary file2 Time-calibrated phylogeny of O. sinensis and its host insects using the EF-1α gene sequences based on Nymphalidae. The dataset of the EF-1α gene sequences included the seven haplotypes of O. sinensis, the 16 haplotypes of the host insects, 30 species of the genus Ophiocordyceps, and 49 species of the family Nymphalidae (Table S4). Nymphalidae (90 Myr; 80–110 Myr) was used as the crown calibration point (Wahlberg et al., 2009) (PNG 324 KB)
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Supplementary file3 Time-calibrated phylogeny of O. sinensis and its host insects using the EF-1α gene sequences based on four fossil evidence calibration points, i.e., (A) bird—mammal (300 Myr; standard deviation of 30 Myr); (B) plant—opisthokonts (1700 Myr; standard deviation of 300 Myr); (C) fly—mosquito (235 Myr; standard deviation of 24 Myr); (D) Arabidopsis–rice (200 Myr; 100–200 Myr) (Berbeea and Taylorb, 2010). The EF-1α gene sequences dataset of 42 samples, included the 7 haplotypes of O. sinensis, the 16 haplotypes of the host insects, and the other 23 taxa that vary throughout plants, animals, and fungi, and Plasmodium falciparum (GenBank accession No. X60488.1) was selected as an outgroup (Table S5) (PNG 114 KB)
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Supplementary file4 Time-calibrated phylogeny of O. sinensis using the nrDNA ITS gene sequences based on P. coccophagus. The dataset of fungal nrDNA ITS gene sequences included one haplotype of O. sinensis, 23 species of genus Ophiocordyceps (Table S6). P. coccophagus (102 Myr; 99–105 Myr) was used as the crown calibration point (Sung et al., 2008) (PNG 70 KB)
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Supplementary file5 Time-calibrated phylogeny of the host insects using the mitochondrial COI gene sequences based on Nymphalidae. The dataset of mitochondrial COI gene sequences included 38 haplotypes of the host insects and 63 species of the family Nymphalidae (Table S7). Nymphalidae (90 Myr; 80–110 Myr) was used as the crown calibration point (Wahlberg et al., 2009) (PNG 88 KB)
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Li, S., Zhu, Y., Xu, Z. et al. The phylogeny and divergence time of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its host insects based on elongation factor 1 alpha. Arch Microbiol 205, 98 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-023-03444-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-023-03444-9