Cordyceps is a genus of Ascomycota fungi in the Cordycipitaceae family. It is characterized by presenting a superficial perithecia or completely immersed in the stipe and a claviform or stipitate stroma, whose color can vary from orange to black, going through red and brown..
The taxonomy of the genus is quite complex. In fact, it has recently undergone various rearrangements and fractionations into various subgenera or even new genera based on morphological, molecular and ecological characters. The genus contains about 400 described species and, according to experts, there are many more still to be described.
These fungi, like all ascomycetes, possess both sexual (teleomorphic) and asexual (anamorphic, sinanomorphic) reproduction. The species of Cordyceps represent the sexual phase of a group of fungi whose asexual phases have been described by other generic names.
All these fungi are entomopathogenic and their hosts consist of various species of arthropods located in 10 different orders. A group of species that parasitize fungi of the genus Elaphomyces, and that they were located in the genre Cordyceps, are currently located in the genus Elaphocordyceps.
Fungi of the genus Cordyceps synthesize a significant amount of biomolecules of medical importance, such as cordycepin, a derivative of adenosine that has shown activity against leukemia in vitro, as well as antidepressant. Other biomolecules boost the immune system and prevent the development of tumors.
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Fungi of the genus Cordyceps they have microscopic, cylindrical, thickened apex ascospores with filiform, hyaline and multisept ascospores that often disarticulate into sporal fragments (partspores).
The asci are contained in a bottle-shaped perithecia, which is also microscopic and is located superficially in the stipe or completely immersed in it and arranged vertically on its walls..
The stroma can be orange, red, brown, or black; cylindrical or branched, from which the stipe emerges, which is usually terminal position with respect to the stroma and has a mallet or head shape.
The spores are produced inside the disgust and once they mature they are released and spread by the wind. All species are parasitoids of arthropods, mainly butterflies and beetles.
The gender Cordyceps It belongs to the Ascomycota fungi and is located in the class Sordariomycetes, order Hypocreales. According to traditional taxonomy, this genus was contained in the family Clavicipitaceae, but both the genus and the family were polyphyletic, according to evidence from molecular biology.
Due to this, the genus was fragmented, leaving some species in this family, while the rest were located in the Ophiocordycipitaceae and Cordycipitaceae families. All species of Cordyceps, strictly speaking, they are currently located in the latter family.
Cordyceps sinensis, together with other species of the genus that do not possess ascospores that disarticulate and therefore never form sporal fragments, they were placed in the genus Ophiocordyceps, of the family Ophiocordycipitaceae.
In that same family the genus was included Elaphocordyceps, which was erected to house former members of the genus Cordyceps that were characterized by being pathogens of other fungi, all of them of the genus Elaphomyces.
On the other hand, Cordyceps that remain in the family Clavicipitaceae were included in a new genus, which received the name of Metacordyceps.
All these names corresponded to ancient subgenera within the genus Cordyceps, currently only two valid subgenres remain within the genre: C. cordyceps Y C. cordylia.
All species of Cordyceps are parasitoids that develop inside arthropods, mainly in butterflies and beetles that can be found in different habitats, depending on the arthropod species in question, but that are mainly distributed in tropical humid forests.
The gender Cordyceps it is cosmopolitan and has species in practically any place on earth, with the exception of the Antarctic. Its diversity is estimated at more than 400 species, perhaps twice that number. The largest number of known species are distributed in the tropics and subtropics, mainly on the Asian continent..
Members of the genus Cordyceps they reproduce sexually through spores, being teleomorphic. The spores are released and dispersed by the wind and can remain on the ground until they come into contact with an arthropod, or fall directly on one of them..
When the arthropod is of the appropriate species, generally a butterfly or beetle, the fungus germinates and invades the host's tissues, gradually replacing them with its own tissues. The fungus acts as a parasitoid, that is, in its early stages of the life cycle it keeps the host alive, but then kills it to continue its life cycle.
In order to reproduce sexually, the mycelium of a fungus must meet another thallus that is sexually compatible, that is, reproduction is heterothalic. When two compatible mycelia merge, they form a secondary dicariont mycelium..
After the host is dead, the stroma of the fungus breaks the exoskeleton of this and projects its stipe to the outside. Ascospores are formed in the perithecia and are multisept. On some occasions these ascospores can disarticulate forming sporal fragments.
Sometimes hyphae that develop from whole spores or sporal fragments can reproduce asexually (anamorphs). In these, the conidia-producing cells are thinner than the vegetative hyphae. Some of these anamorphs can grow on the substrate in the absence of hosts..
Conidia can be subglobose or pyriform in shape and uninucleated. There are several anamorphs associated with gender Cordyceps, for example Lecanicillium lecanii is the anamorphic state of C. confragosa; Mariannaea pruinosa it is from C. pruinosa Y A. pistillariiformis is the anamorph of C. tuberculata.
The species of Cordyceps they are all arthropod parasitoids. Parasitoids are organisms that during the first phases of their life cycle behave like parasites, feeding on the vital fluids of their host, without actually causing their death at first. Then if they go to the end and kill it to complete its life cycle.
During their parasitic stage, Cordyceps They not only feed on the vital fluids of their hosts, but also feed on non-vital tissues, which are gradually being replaced by their own tissues. In some cases, they can even cause changes in the behavior of their hosts.
When the reproductive period of the fungus approaches, it kills its host and begins to feed in a saprophytic way on the remaining tissues of the same, that is, those that it had not yet replaced by its own tissues..
Saprophytic organisms have an extracellular digestion, that is, they secrete digestive enzymes to the outside of their body to digest decomposing organic matter, in this case the tissues of their host, and then absorb the already digested material..
Fungi of the genus Cordyceps produce a significant amount of metabolites with bioactive properties, the most important and known to date are cordycepin and cyclosporin.
They also biosynthesize other compounds such as D-mannitol, sterols, vitamins A, B, C and E, amino acids and contain numerous trace elements such as zinc, selenium, manganese and chromium, among others..
It is a biomolecule with a structure similar to that of adenosine, and its mechanism of action is similar, which is why some enzymes cannot differentiate between them. Because of this, it can intervene in metabolic reactions. By being incorporated into the synthesis of RNA instead of adenosine, it causes the interruption of said synthesis.
It also inhibits the metabolic pathway of purine synthesis and the action of some protein kinases. It has antitumor, antifungal and antiviral properties. Its property has been shown against some types of cancer such as cervical cancer or lung cancer.
It also shows cytotoxic activity on some cell lines responsible for leukemia and antidepressant effects in laboratory tests with animals..
Although researchers can now produce it artificially, the main source of cordycepin continues to be fungi of the genus Cordyceps, mainly mycelia of C. militaris artificially grown.
This compound has not actually been isolated from a fungus of the genus Cordyceps proper, but of an anamorphic species, the fungus Tolypocladium inflatum. This compound has immunosuppressive properties which are used in medicine during organ transplants to minimize the chances of rejection..
Chemically it is described as a non-ribosomal cyclic undecapeptide, that is, a polypeptide composed of 11 amino acid residues. In addition to immunosuppressive properties, it has neuroprotective activity against trauma and neurodegenerative diseases..
The fruiting bodies of the fungi of the genus Cordyceps, and the remains of the animals that contain them, have been used for millennia in traditional Chinese medicine, improve body and sexual vigor or delay aging, among other benefits.
Products and supplements that contain extracts of the mushroom promise the following potential benefits:
Recent studies show that Cordyceps supplies cells with energy in the form of ATP. During ATP hydrolysis, a significant amount of energy is released and can be used by the cell.
That extra energy can improve the way your body uses oxygen during physical exercise. Trials with volunteers who have been given extracts of the fungus, have shown higher levels of oxygen in the blood during exercise tasks than those to whom the extracts were not supplied.
However, these same results have not been obtained in trained athletes, so the results about the ability to Cordyceps of improving physical performance are inconclusive.
Called by some as natural viagra, the aphrodisiac effect of Cordyceps it is one of the most sought after benefits. Researchers believe that the antioxidant effects of some compounds biosynthesized by the fungus can prevent the effects of free radicals and slow aging, improving memory and sexual activity..
Trials in mice and fruit flies have shown anti-aging and sexual vigor-enhancing effects, however, there is no scientific evidence yet that these same results can be observed in humans..
essays in vitro as well as with laboratory animals have shown that Cordyceps can inhibit the development of many types of cancer cells, including lung, liver, skin and colon cancer, in both human cells and mouse cells.
Cordycepin, as already mentioned, also acts on some types of leukemia. The extracts from Cordyceps they can also help reverse the adverse effects of various anticancer therapies.
Leukopenia, or a reduction in the number of white blood cells in the blood, can appear after radiation or chemotherapy, compromising the immune system. This pathology can be reversed experimentally with extracts of Cordyceps.
Some components of Cordyceps they act in a similar way to insulin, controlling blood sugar levels in those who do not produce or respond to insulin.
By controlling blood sugar levels, Cordyceps helps prevent or control type 2 diabetes and thereby helps prevent complications associated with type 2 diabetes, including liver cancer.
Cordyceps helps control triglyceride and "bad" cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as blood pressure, protecting the heart and the cardiovascular system in general by preventing diseases related to high levels of these components.
The mushroom is approved in China for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. It also reduces the negative effects on the heart of chronic kidney disease, at least in tests with laboratory rats..
Cordyceps has shown anti-inflammatory effects in the airways of laboratory mice, which is why researchers believe it has a high potential for the development of drugs against asthma.
In traditional medicine they also use it topically to reduce skin inflammations.
Other properties of the components of Cordyceps include immunostimulatory and immunomodulatory, antibacterial, larvicidal, fungicidal, blood vessel dilator, calming, antidepressant, anti HIV / AIDS and infertility preventive activity.
With the rearrangement of the genre Cordyceps, some of the most representative species of the genus now belong to other genera, such as Ophiocordyceps sinensis Y Ophicordyceps unilateralis. Among the species that still belong to the genus are:
This is the type species of the genus. It was described by Linnaeus in 1753 as Clavia militaris and relocated to the genre Cordyceps by Fries in 1818. Parasitizes insect pupae and has an orange to red fruiting body emerging from the dead pupa..
It is the main source of cordycepin and currently mycelia of this fungus are artificially cultivated in culture media that are manipulated to improve the productivity of this substance by the fungus..
Morphologically resembles Cordyceps militaris, from which it differs because its ascopores do not disintegrate into sporal fragments. This species was described based on material from Thailand that parasitizes lepidopteran larvae. Contains numerous bioactive substances.
This species is the teleomorph of Tolypocladium inflatum, species from which cyclosporine is synthesized.
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