Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens.

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 periodical cicada four-year acceleration hypothesis revisited and the polyphyletic nature of Brood V, including an updated crowd-source enhanced map (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada).

The periodical cicadas of North America (Magicicada spp.) are well-known for their long life cycles of 13 and 17 years and their mass synchronized emergences. Although periodical cicada life cycles are relatively strict, the biogeographic patterns of periodical cicada broods, or year-classes, indicate that they must undergo some degree of life cycle switching. We present a new map of periodical cicada Brood V, which emerged in 2016, and demonstrate that it consists of at least four distinct parts that span an area in the United States stretching from Ohio to Long Island. We discuss mtDNA haplotype variation in this brood in relation to other periodical cicada broods, noting that different parts of this brood appear to have different origins. We use this information to refine a hypothesis for the formation of periodical cicada broods by 1- and 4-year life cycle jumps.

Phylogeny, taxonomic affinities, and biogeography of Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) based on ITS and cpDNA sequence data.

The large and diverse genus Penstemon (ca. 271 species) is endemic to North America and has been divided into six subgenera primarily based on anther dehiscence patterns. Species of Penstemon are known to be pollinated by a variety of insects (hymenopterans, lepidopterans, dipterans) and hummingbirds. Nucleotide sequence data from ITS and two noncoding regions of chloroplast DNA were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of Penstemon. Trees generated from nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences are incongruent, which is probably the result of hybridization, and not fully resolved, which is likely due to a rapid evolutionary radiation. Penstemon represents a recent continental radiation where speciation has resulted primarily from evolutionary adaptations to ecological niches such as pollinator specialization. The results from these analyses show that the current circumscription of subgenera and sections needs revision to reflect more closely the evolutionary relationships of species. Specifically, species in subgenera Saccanthera, Habroanthus, and Penstemon are polyphyletic. These results also confirm the independent origin of hummingbird floral morphology in 10 clades.