Draft Genome Sequence of the Termite-Associated 'Cuckoo Fungus,'

Atheliales is a diverse order of crust-forming Basidiomycota fungi. Here, we report the draft genome of the “cuckoo fungus,” Athelia (Fibularhizoctonia) sp. strain TMB (Atheliales), which forms termite-egg-mimicking sclerotia for which termites care. We further compare its repertoire of psilocybin gene homologs to homologs previously reported for Fibularhizoctonia psychrophila.
Atheliales is a diverse order of crust-forming Basidiomycota fungi. Here, we report the draft genome of the “cuckoo fungus,” Athelia (Fibularhizoctonia) sp. TMB strain TB5 (Atheliales), which forms termite-egg-mimicking sclerotia that termites tend. We further compare its repertoire of psilocybin gene homologs to homologs previously reported for Fibularhizoctonia psychrophila.