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Hyperparasitic fungi—definitions, diversity, ecology, and research
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  • Miguel A. Bermúdez-Cova,
  • Danny Haelewaters,
  • Charissa de Bekker,
  • Meike Piepenbring,
  • Nathan Schoutteten,
  • C. Alisha Quandt
Miguel A. Bermúdez-Cova
Mycology Research Group, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Danny Haelewaters
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States

Corresponding Author:danny.haelewaters@gmail.com

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Charissa de Bekker
Microbiology, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Meike Piepenbring
Mycology Research Group, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Nathan Schoutteten
Research Group Mycology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
C. Alisha Quandt
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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Abstract

Even parasites have parasites. By definition, a hyperparasite is an organism capable of parasitizing another parasite. Hyperparasitism caused by fungi is a common phenomenon in nature, but it has been poorly studied. This life history strategy evolved several times in the fungal tree of life, and is crucial in the maintenance of ecosystems as well as in the mediation of parasite–host interactions. Although the interest for hyperparasitic fungi is growing in the context of biological control, hyperparasitism is not ecologically and evolutionarily understood. This chapter summarizes the most relevant aspects of the terminology, diversity, and ecology of hyperparasitic fungi on both fungal and non-fungal hosts. We also discuss the problems related to molecular research on hyperparasitic fungi. As they represent a hidden source of diversity, it is necessary to increase sampling efforts and to undertake further morphological, molecular, and ecological studies to understand these fungi and their potential biotechnological and pharmaceutical uses.