First evidence of Clavicipitaceous fungus attacking a vertebrate

Metapochonia bulbillosa(Clavicipitaceae) was isolated as a causative agent of a new frog mycosis ofPelophylax porosus brevipodus, one of the endangered frogs in Japan. Analysis of spontaneous outbreaks and infection experiments confirmed that the fungus can lethally affectPelophylax porosus brevipodus, as well asDryophytes japonicus. This is the first evidence that a species ofClavicipitaceae, originally known as a plant pathogen, also affects vertebrates.