9. Future avenues of research
One of the challenges to studying hyperparasitic fungi includes the
ability to recognize the morphology and natural history of both the
primary host and the primary parasite in their uninfected states.
Currently few experts are trained to identify all of the partners in the
different trophic levels of hyperparasitic interactions, which explains
the paucity of published literature on this topic. While these
hyperparasitic fungal systems are potentially diverse, they are largely
unexplored. Multitrophic, multiyear, multisite sampling efforts have
been proposed to strengthen future analyses on host specificity patterns
and community ecology (Cazabonne et al., 2022; de Groot et
al., 2020; Haelewaters et al., 2021a).
In addition to the lack of sampling, little attention has been given to
the theoretical framework for systems involving hyperparasites (Sandhu et al., 2021). Most of this work has focused on the use of
hyperparasitic fungi in biocontrol experiments, directed toward reducing
the damage caused by primary parasites (Day, 2002; Rosenheim et
al., 1995). It is essential to understand how parasites interact with
their own parasites to effectively control infectious diseases (Parratt et al., 2017).
While much is left unknown about hyperparasitic fungi, the presence and
expression of secondary metabolite gene clusters (Quandt et al.,
2016, 2018) and their antifungal activities (Wang et al., 2016)
among many lineages of mycoparasites including hyperparasites are well
documented. The advent of genomics has proven that many species and
strains have the ability to produce countless compounds whose activities
have the potential for myriad biotechnological and pharmaceutical uses
(Keller, 2019). Hyperparasites, many mentioned here in this chapter,
likely harbor antifungal compounds that have yet to be discovered and
described (Kim et al., 2002; Wicklow et al., 1998).
Without more work examining hyperparasitic fungi, these compounds and
their potential uses will remain unknown.