Beware : CORDYCEPS - The Zombifying Fungus!steemCreated with Sketch.

in #steemstem5 years ago (edited)

Hello science geeks and other "steeming" fellas !

I am sure some of you must be having a taste for Zombies !

[Pixabay License]

Okay, let's start this way...
How many of you have watched any movie of the sci-fi, horror "The Resident Evil" series?


[Source : Wikimedia Commons, Author : By Constantin Film, Davis Films, Impact Pictures, Screen Gems - http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/residentevil/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38647432]

34714536716_c5e1b309f8_o.jpg
[Source, License : CC by 2.0 ]

And how many of you liked it?...
Well, for those who are not aware of it, I will definitely recommend them this series. Those of you who are science enthusiasts especially the ones with a "taste for zombies" will definitely like it...!

Well, let's take bite of the beginning of Resident Evil (2002) i.e. the first movie in the series....


[Publisher : hasan 15m, YouTube]

BRIEF SUMMARY
A virus named T-virus escapes the state of the art commercial science facility owned by Umbrella Corps. and becomes the cause of an apocalypse. It mutates all living organisms, turning them into the "undead" !
------(End of Brief Summary)------

Now let's take your views, is such a thing possible in reality? Well, my answer would be yes!
But, what is more important is - Can such a thing a happen in nature?...Can an organism really be naturally capable of "zombifying" another organism?
....Ummm well, it turns out that the answer again is yes!...at least to some extent!

CORDYCEPS : Bridging the gap between Sci-Fi and reality!!...

This cute little fungi here is all you need! (Fungi shown below = Cordiceps militaris, Scarlet Caterpillarclub)

[Source : Wikimedia Commons, Attributon : By Andreas Kunze - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16244069]

INTRODUCTION

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi, belonging to the division Ascomycota) that includes about 400 species. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids(parasite living within the body of its host), parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi as well! (That's amazing, or rather cannibalism to be precise!)
This fungi after having infected an insect, grows inside the host insect and eventually gains control over its brain. It then controls the behaviour of the insect to maximize its possibility of infecting other insects!

Cordyceps beginning its growth from a wasp...

[Source : Wikimedia Commons, Attribution : By Erich G. Vallery, USDA Forest Service - SRS-4552, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4476437]

Case Study - Zombie Ants : Action of cordyceps on ants.


[Source : Wikimedia Commons, Attribution : By David P. Hughes, Maj-Britt Pontoppidan - http://www.plosone.org/article/showImageLarge.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0004835.g001, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17917778]

[License : Public Domain, Author : University of Texas at Austin, Insects Unlocked Project]

MODE OF ACTION :

  1. Phase-1) INFECTION : Cordyceps(in ants the fungus responsible for infection is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) spores from some previous generation land on an ant(generally carpenter ants). The spores produce an adhesive substance to stick to the ant's cuticle. Then with the help of enzymes, they break in and spread their mycelium threads to feed on the ant.
  2. Phase-2) FEEDING TIME : As the fungus grows and feeds on the organism, it makes sure not to disturb any of the vital organs of the host that may become fatal and cause a premature death of the organism.
  3. Phase-3) REPRODUCTION : The fungi will be reproducing asexually(involving a single parent organism). By the time the fungi is ready to reproduce, much of the host organism is the fungi itself. The most important effect of this is seen on the host's brain which is now under the control of the mighty Cordyceps. The fungi directs the ant to a high point on the plant, forces it to bite a mid-rib of the plant, and kills it. Now, even after the ant is dead. the fungi is safely anchored on the midrib, where it grows its fruiting body which pierces out of the ant. The fruiting body then bursts open, thus releasing thousands of spores from a height, potentially near an ant colony!

There you go - An apocalyptic situation for the ant colony!!


[Author : BBC Studios]

Here are some more amazing parasites - in the words of an amazing Nat-Geo photographer Anand Varma!


[Author : National Geographic, YouTube]

I hope this article amazed you, and instilled in you a feeling of awe for the vibrance of the ways and methods of the mother nature that surrounds us...
Let's also pray to nature that it doesn't create a human infecting Cordyceps like fungi !!
----------------The End----------------

..and as far as Resident Evil is concerned...

[Pixabay License]

Be Carefull Scientist Fellas !!
Let this never happen.
M.Medro

Post Script
For some more basic information on fungi, refer my previous post here :
EXOTIC FUNGI#1) The Veiled Lady Fungus


Bibliography

  1. https://owlcation.com/stem/Cordyceps-and-Zombie-Ants
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps
Sort:  

Fungus some bad hard to kill stuff

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.36
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70744.80
ETH 3561.94
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.80