New zombie fungus that turns victims into spore mummies found in Brazil

BRAZIL: In a remote rainforest in Brazil, scientists have discovered a new fungus with zombie-like qualities that mummifies its prey.

According to Mirror, the fungus named as Purpureocillium belongs to the same family as cordyceps, which gained fame through HBO’s The Last of Us, and it primarily preys on trapdoor spiders. The fungus infects its hosts through spores that land on the victim and infiltrate its body.

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Within the host spider’s body, the fungus multiplies as yeast-like cells, overcoming the host’s immune system and causing illness, according to João Araújo from the New York Botanical Gardens. After killing the host, these yeast-like cells form chains and grow into filaments, ultimately organising themselves to create a fruiting body, typically emerging from the spider’s cephalothorax.

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Meanwhile, scientists believed that the fungus may consist of multiple unknown species, and the reason for its bright purple color remained a mystery. However, Araújo suggested that their discovery was limited to Brazil or South America, proposing that the zombie fungus was part of a “complex of species.”

The prevalence of parasitic fungi gained attention following the success of the HBO series The Last of Us, which featured a storyline involving a fungus infecting individuals. Araújo previously hypothesised that cordyceps evolved to turn ants into zombies around 45 million years ago, initially infecting beetles and then transitioning to ants, which often inhabited the same tree trunks.