New fungus that MUMMIFIES its prey and shoots a fuzzy purple-colored stalk out of the corpse is discovered in Brazil
This Purpureocillium is in the same family as the zombie fungus cordyceps
By Stacy Liberatore
Daily Mail
Aug 28, 2023
A fungus that mummifies its prey in a type of sap and shoots a purple-colored stalk out from the corpse has been discovered in Brazil
A new fungus that mummifies its prey in a type of sap and shoots a purple-colored stalk out from the corpse has been discovered in Brazil.
The specimen, which feasts on trapdoor spiders in the rainforest, belongs to the same family as the zombie ant fungus made famous in HBO's 'The Last of Us.'
João Araújo, with New York Botanical Gardens, told DailyMail.com that the new fungus, Purpureocillium, infects its hosts like the zombie fungus in that spores land on the victim and penetrate the body.
Fungal tissue slowly spreads throughout the spider's body and organizes to produce the fruiting body that grows out from the head of the anthropoid.
'Once inside the spider's body, the fungus multiplies as yeast-like cells, overcoming the host's immune system and causing disease,' Araújo told DailyMail.com.
The development continues as these single cells start to connect with each other.
'Immediately after the host is killed, these yeast-like cell chains start to connect and germinate into filaments, or hyphae.
'They start to organize themselves to produce the fruiting body out of the host; it varies according to the species, for example, the zombie-ant fungi grows often from the back of the head, Purpureocillium grows usually from the spider's cephalothorax.'
Purpureocillium fungi have been found in different parts of the world, such as Japan, and have long been treated as the same species.
The spore forms a bell shape as it grows out of the spider's head and releases millions of spores into the air
'Our study is proposing that P. atypicolum is actually composed of several undescribed species; it is called a 'complex of species,' and our new finding in Brazil is just one among several,' said Araújo,
'We believe our new discovery is restricted to Brazil or South America.'
However, the fungus's bright purple color is still a mystery, but Araújo said it might have to do with the metabolites they produce.
Parasitic fungi have become popular after HBO released 'The Last of Us.'
The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) as he escorts teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through Boston, Massachusetts, after a fungus spreads across the world, turning victims into zombies that spread the fungi's spores, infecting everyone who comes into contact with it.
Araújo told DailyMail.com in February that cordyceps previously evolved to allow the fungus to turn ants into zombies.
'We hypothesize that around 45 million years ago, the fungus infected the first ant,' Araujo said.
The specimen, which feasts on trapdoor spiders in the rainforest, belongs to the same family as the zombie ant fungus made famous in HBO's 'The Last of Us
Cordyceps has only been found to infect ants, turning them into zombies in order to spread more spores
'The cordyceps was [first] in beetles and then jumped to ants because both happened to be [in the same] tree trunk.'
Araújo continued to explain that around 35 ophiocordyceps fungi are known to turn insects into zombies, which are found in the US, Brazil, Japan and parts of Africa.
In the HBO series, the fungus turns humans into cannibal monsters, but this does not occur in nature.
Araújo said it makes the insects appear as if they were drunk.
'The zombie ants, when they are infected, they just want a peaceful and cool place to provide a platform for the fungus,' he said.
'That is their last goal in life - to find a good spot for the parasite to thrive.
'There's no aggression. The infected ants will not attack. They act in a very strange way, like a drunk ant.'
While the newly discovered fungus and cordyceps will not infect humans anytime soon, other fungi currently in the world pose a dangerous threat.
'I think in the first scene [from The Last of Us], where the scientists in 1960s are saying people should be aware of fungal infections, was a really nice take,' said Araújo.
In October 2022, the World Health Organization released its first-ever list of health-threatening fungi, which includes a catalog of the 19 fungi that represent the greatest threat to public health.
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