''Isaria sinclairii'' is a species of

entomopathogenic fungus An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can kill or seriously disable insects. Typical life cycle These fungi usually attach to the external body surface of insects in the form of microscopic spores (usually asexual, mitosporic spores also ...

mostly infecting the underground nymphs of

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

s. It produces myriocin, from which the synthetic drug

fingolimod Fingolimod, sold under the brand name Gilenya, is an immunomodulating medication, mostly used for treating multiple sclerosis (MS). Fingolimod is a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator, which sequesters lymphocytes in lymph nodes, preve ...

, a treatment for multiple sclerosis, was developed. FourIsariasinclairii

Taxonomy

''Isaria sinclairii'' is the name of the

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the Biological life cycle, life cycles of fungi in the Phylum, phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a Asc ...

; the teleomorph is ''Cordyceps sinclairii'', Cordycipitaceae. The species was first described in 1855 by

Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated a ...

from specimens collected in the garden of Archdeacon William Williams at Tūranga,

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay ( Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the nor ...

. It was moved to the genus '' Isaria'' in 1923 by

Curtis Gates Lloyd Curtis Gates Lloyd (July 17, 1859 – November 11, 1926) was an American mycologist known for both his research on the gasteroid and polypore fungi, as well as his controversial views on naming conventions in taxonomy. He had a herbarium with a ...

Ecology

''Isaria sinclairii'' is a fungus which attacks insects, including

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e. The larvae typically die just beneath the soil surface, and the fungus produces white tufts which grow up from the soil and release powdery white

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

s. ''I. sinclairii'' is found from Asia (particularly China, Japan, and Korea) through to New Zealand. In New Zealand it attacks cicadas of the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

Amphipsalta ''Amphipsalta'', commonly known as clapping cicadas, is a genus of cicada in the family Cicadidae. This genus is endemic to New Zealand.Melampsalta.'' In the lab it can be cultured on the bodies of

silkworms The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically i ...

Uses

''Isaria sinclairii'' and similar vegetable caterpillar species such as ''

Ophiocordyceps sinensis ''Ophiocordyceps sinensis'' (formerly known as ''Cordyceps sinensis''), known colloquially as caterpillar fungus, is an entomopathogenic fungus (a fungus that grows on insects) in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It is mainly found in the me ...

'' have been used in

traditional Tibetan medicine Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...

and in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logica ...

as tonics believed to impart eternal youth. A

sphingolipid Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx beca ...

derivative produced by ''I. sinclairii'', myriocin, was discovered to have powerful immunosuppressive properties, a function of the way the fungus attacks living insects. Because myriocin is too toxic to use in humans, a synthetic derivative was developed in 1992, named FTY720 or

. Under its trade name Gilenya, fingolimod was approved by the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

in 2010 as the first oral drug for treating the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Fingolimod shows promise as a cancer medication, and has been tested as a possible treatment for obesity.

References

External links

ARS Collection of Entomopathogenic Fungal Cultures
*''Isaria sinclairii'' discussed on RNZ ''

Critter of the Week ''Critter of the Week'' is a weekly RNZ National programme about endangered and neglected native plants and animals of New Zealand. Beginning in 2015, ''Critter of the Week'' is an approximately 15-minute discussion between Nicola Toki of the ...

''
25 January 2019
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6078965 Clavicipitaceae Fungi described in 1855 Taxa named by Miles Joseph Berkeley