The real-life ‘zombie’ fungus
The premise of the undead and the reanimated has captured the minds of humans for millennia. The Norse Draugr, the Chinese Jiangshi and the Greek Vrykolakas are all examples from mythology in completely separated cultures that reflect the strange culmination of fear and intrigue that humans have for zombies.
Scarily, the idea of the undead is not only in the imagination of the living.
In the tropical rainforests of areas like Thailand and Brazil there is a fungus that brings the zombie into the real world: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. The fungus targets ants, slowly killing them, and changes their behaviour as it does.
Firstly, the fungal spores land on the host ant and subsequently use enzyme action to break through its tough exoskeleton. Once inside, it utilises the conditions within the host (ideal temperatures along with food and water availability) to quickly reproduce.
This rapid growth of O.unilateralis can cause damage to the host’s nervous system; which can cause behavioural changes.
The fungus will then produce a variety of chemicals, including anti-pathogenic toxins (preventing other pathogens taking advantage of the weakened host and harming the fungus) and compounds that affect the host’s haemocoel (blood system). This leads to the ant to experiencing involuntary convulsions…
