Parasitic Fungus
neurophilosophy | March 3, 2011A dead ant infected with a parasitic Cordyceps fungus (David P. Hughes).
A team of entomologists working in the Brazilian rain forest has discovered four new species of parasitic Cordyceps fungi, which infect insects and manipulate the behaviour of their hosts in order to disperse their spores as widely as possible.
The modus operandi of Cordyceps is reminiscent of the famous chest-bursting scene in the movie Alien. Microscopic spores infiltrate the host via the spiracles - the holes in the exoskeleton through which insects breathe - and the fungus begins feeding on its non-vital organs.
When…
cwilcox | April 20, 2009Now that I've grossed most of you out with my last week's pick, I think I'll go ahead and make this week's pest a little easier to look at.
The image looks like a mustard plant with nice, yellow flowers. But alas! It is actually the product of this week's parasite, the rust fungus Puccinia monoica.
The fungus infects mustard plants and completely changes their 'behavior' to facilitate its own reproduction. Firstly, the fungus infects the plant as a whole, stealing nutrients and generally acting like a parasite. But Puccinia is a sexual fungus - to reproduce it must combine genes with another…