Sorosporella

Definition

A genus of entomopathogenic fungi in the order Hypocreales (Ascomycota), described by Nikolai Sorokin in 1888, now generally treated as a synonym of Syngliocladium. Species in this complex infect insects and are anamorphs (asexual stages) corresponding to teleomorphs in Ophiocordyceps and related genera within Ophiocordycipitaceae. The genus produces conidia in chains or clusters and has been reported from hosts including grasshoppers (e.g., Sorosporella agrotidis from Agrotidae).

Etymology

From Neo-Latin soros (heap, pile) + sporella (diminutive of spora, spore), referring to the clustered or heaped arrangement of spores.

Example

Sorosporella agrotidis, originally isolated from grasshoppers, produces pinkish spore masses on infected hosts and serves as a historical example of early-described insect-pathogenic Hypocreales before modern molecular taxonomy clarified its relationship to Syngliocladium and Ophiocordyceps.

Synonyms

• Syngliocladium

Related Terms

• Ophiocordyceps
• entomopathogenic fungi
• anamorph
• teleomorph
• Hypocreales
• Hirsutella
• Isaria
• Biological control

Usage Notes

Sorosporella is now largely synonymized with Syngliocladium under modern taxonomic revision; the name persists in older literature on insect mycoses. The genus exemplifies the historical complexity of fungal nomenclature where asexual and sexual stages were described under separate names (anamorph-teleomorph pairs) before molecular phylogenetics unified them. Specialists should verify current usage in recent phylogenetic studies of Ophiocordycipitaceae.