{"id":24917,"date":"2023-02-03T12:37:13","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T11:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=74063"},"modified":"2023-02-03T13:35:54","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T12:35:54","slug":"cordyceps-and-ophicordyceps-the-zombie-fungi-made-famous-by-the-last-of-us","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/cordyceps-and-ophicordyceps-the-zombie-fungi-made-famous-by-the-last-of-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Cordyceps and Ophicordyceps: the zombie fungi made famous by The Last Of Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps are the stuff of nightmares \u2013 if you\u2019re an insect, or\u00a0if you’ve played or watched The Last Of Us. <\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 03 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

What are Cordyceps<\/em> and Ophiocordyceps<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

Both Cordyceps<\/em> and Ophiocordyceps<\/em> are fungi genera, which compose of about 750 species. Many of them are parasitic, infecting insects and other arthropods with their spores.<\/p>\n

Upon infection, some of the host tissue is replaced by the fungi\u2019s mycelium and results in the fruiting bodies growing out from the host\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

The fungi also cause a change in behaviour, in order to maximise its chance to passing onto new hosts.<\/p>\n

\""Large\"<\/picture><\/div>
A large moth parasitised and killed by Cordyceps fungus in the Ecuadorian Amazon. \u00a9 Dr Morley Read\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""This\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps fungus emerging from an ant. \u00a9 Reza Saputra\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Hand\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps militaris growing on a mulberry silkworm pupa. \u00a9 Kornwipa Ponganan\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Dead\"<\/picture><\/div>
Dead adult Calyptrate fly by a fungus of the genus Ophiocordyceps. \u00a9 Vini Souza\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Undeveloped\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps entomorrhiza emerging from body of larva of a longhorn beetle. \u00a9 Ian Redding\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""parasitized\"<\/picture><\/div>
A fly parasitized by a Cordyceps fungus in rainforest, in Ma Da forest, Vietnam. \u00a9 Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Cordyceps\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps fungi emerging from an insect. \u00a9 Luis Espin\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Cordyceps\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps militaris fungus growing from a butterfly cocoon. \u00a9 Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Cordyceps\"<\/picture><\/div>
Cordyceps fungus growing from a bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica. \u00a9 Kevin Wells\/Getty<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe fungi have found fame in recent years, thanks to The Last Of Us<\/em> (a video games series first released in 2013 and now adapted into a drama on Sky) and to The Girl With All The Gifts<\/em> (a novel released in 2014 and adapted into a film).\n

In both of these, the parasitic fungi adapted to infect humans and resulted in a pandemic of zombie-like people that bite others in order to spread the fungi, and leading to the collapse of human civilisation. In The Last Of Us<\/em>, the fungi was an unspecified Cordyceps<\/em> species, whilst in The Girl With All The Gifts<\/em> it was Ophiocordyceps unilateralis<\/em>.<\/p>\n

O. unilateralis<\/em> is also known as the zombie-ant fungus as it infects ants<\/a> in the Camponotini tribe. It was first described by the British naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace in 1859.<\/p>\n

Once infected, the ant is controlled by the fungus, which causes it to leave its nest, climb up the stem of a plant and secure itself in place with a death grip \u2013 usually about 25cm above the forest floor. Once there, the fruiting bodies grow out of the ant\u2019s head and shower spores down onto the ground below \u2013 the aim is infect more ants.<\/p>\n