Collection and Isolation
A spider infected by the fungus Gibellula pulchra was collected
in May 2015, from a bottomland hardwood forest near Lafayette, Louisiana
(30°15′28.7″N, 91°59′17.6″W). The cadaver was collected along with the
leaf to which it was attached and transported to the lab in a clean
plastic container (Figure 1e).
The fungus was isolated on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar plus 2% yeast
extract (SDAY+) by holding the specimen over the open plate and gently
tapping the leaf to which the infected spider was attached, causing
fungal spores to be released onto the surface of the medium. Cultures
were maintained at room temperature and ambient light and checked daily
for fungal growth. Subcultures were made from the germinating spores and
pure cultures were established and used for isolation of genomic DNA.
The ITS region was sequenced (primers; ITS1F and ITS4) to further
confirm the identity of the fungus.
The host was difficult to identify due to the extent of fungal growth,
though this fungus has been recovered from several common species in the
area including Colonus spp ., Anasaitis canosa , andPlatycryptus sp .. Due to their commonality, individuals of the
genus Colonus (previously Thiodina sp.) were chosen as
hosts for an ad hoc experiment intending to confirm the cause of
mortality as being due to the fungus G. pulchra .