Aug 05, 2020 20:00:00

Horror movie-like fungus 'Massospora fungus' that propagates zombie cicadas while destroying the host body

It was revealed that cicadas infected with '

Massospora ', a type of fungus, mate with a living cicada while destroying a part of their abdomen and try to spread the infection. The cicada infected with the Massospora bacterium is called a ' zombie cicada ' because it looks like a dead zombie that is still moving.

Behavioral betrayal: How select fungal parasites enlist living insects to do their bidding
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008598

Return of the zombie cicadas: WVU team unearths manipulative qualities of fungal-infected flyers | WVU Today | West Virginia University
https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2020/07/27/return-of-the-zombie-cicadas-wvu-team-unearths-manipulative-qualities-of-fungal-infected-flyers

'Zombie cicadas' infected with mind-controlling fungus return to West Virginia-CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zombie-cicadas-infected-mind-controlling-fungus-west-virginia/

A research paper on the existence of 'zombie semis' infected with Massospora was published in PLOS Pathogens , a peer-reviewed open access journal . Zombie cicadas infected with Massospora bacteria will infect normal cicadas with bacteria and will rapidly increase the zombie corps.

The following is a photograph of a zombie semi-infected who is infected with Massospora and continues to move with a part of the abdomen missing

According to the paper, a male cicada infected with Massospora mimics the 'moving wings to induce copulation' performed by a female cicada. This attracts live, healthy male cicadas and infects them with Massospora. Massospora has been shown to control the body of infected hosts, which is also the latest discovery of decades of research on Massospora.

Massospora can be transmitted from infected cicadas to healthy cicadas through mating and propagate in

conidia . Infected cicadas are similar in appearance to normal cicadas, but they are gradually disintegrated by fungal spores. The infection route of Massospora is not limited to mating, but when the infected cicadas stop on tree trunks, the infection may spread to cicada larvae. In addition, cicadas that have been infected with Massospora bacteria from the time of their larvae develop symptoms after becoming adults, and it seems that the abdominal disintegration begins within about a week.

``The bioactive compounds produced by Massospora can help keep the cucumber functioning as a source of infection for a longer period of time,'' said Bryan Lovett from the University of California, Davis, who participated in the study. There is a nature.'

The research team is investigating 'zombie semis' discovered in the southeastern part of West Virginia in the early 2020s. Zombie cicadas have been regularly discovered in 2013, 2017, etc., but they have been found in different places. The research team described the cicada infected with Massospora as 'B-class horror movie-like unrest'. In addition, Massospora erodes the genitals, buttocks, and abdomen of the host, and eventually replaces them with the spores of the fungus.

Mr. Lovett describes the process of the body of a cicada infected with Massospora as it collapses, 'as if the eraser of a pencil is collapsing.' The team also pointed out that the symptoms of cicadas infected with Massospora resemble rabies . 'It is believed that insects have full control over their decision-making and are free-willing. However, cicadas infected with the Massospora fungus turn their actions to the Massospora fungus. Then the cicadas will begin to do what is beneficial to the Massospora, not what is beneficial to them.'

Associate Professor Matthew Kasson, an expert in phytopathology and mycology, was the first to discover a psychoactive compound in cicada infected with Massospora and was a participant in this study. The research team does not know exactly when the cicada will be infected with Massospora, and predicts that it will be infected at the larval stage or after becoming an adult. In addition, Associate Professor Kasson pointed out that infection with Massospora at the larval stage may be asymptomatic when the cicada is at rest.

The research team states that the Massospora bacterium that produces zombie cicadas is effective only for cicadas and is harmless to humans. It also notes that because the breeding rate of cicadas is relatively slow, Massospora does not pose a major threat to cicadas as a whole. In addition, the research team plans to investigate how the Massospora fungus developed and whether it infects other insects.