New species and new combinations in the genus Paraisaria (Hypocreales, Ophiocordycipitaceae) from the USA, supported by polyphasic analysis

Molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses, and morphological characterization of collections of North American Paraisaria specimens support the description of two new species and two new combinations for known species. P. cascadensis sp. nov. is a pathogen of Cyphoderris (Orthoptera) from the Pacific Northwest USA and P. pseudohet-eropoda sp. nov. is a pathogen of cicadae (Hemiptera) from the Southeast USA. New combinations are made for Ophiocordyceps insignis and O. monticola based on mor-phological, ecological, and chemical study. A new cyclopeptide family proved indispens-able in providing chemotaxonomic markers for resolving species in degraded herbarium specimens for which DNA sequencing is intractable. This approach enabled the critical linkage of a 142-year-old type specimen to a phylogenetic clade. The diversity of Parais-aria in North America and the utility of chemotaxonomy for the genus are discussed.

Automated summary

Molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses, as well as morphological characterization, have led to the discovery of new features in two North American Paraisaria species and new combinations for two known species. The use of chemotaxonomy has proven useful in identifying markers for degraded herbarium specimens where DNA sequencing is not possible.