UMS
Smell Pleurocordyceps cornusynnemata discovered in April by a team from UMS
Instead of manipulating the insect’s nervous system himself, the Pleurocordyceps infiltrates and feeds directly on the vigorous tissue of another parasite inside the host.
Malaysian scientists have discovered, in the jungles of Borneo, a new species of parasitic fungus that attacks “zombie fungi”known for infecting insects before subjecting them to a gruesome death.
The new species was collected during several field trips undertaken by the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation at University of Malaya Sabah (UMS). The discovery was presented in April at UMS, and detailed in a published in the journal Phytotaxa.
It was nicknamed “hyperparasite” because it “effectively parasitizes the primary pathogen,” the institute’s deputy director, Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan.
“The fungus belongs to the genus Pleurocordyceps and acts as a specialized hyperparasite,” Seelan said.
The new species targets ants already infected by Ophiocordycepsor ““, which becomes infected and causes him to behave erratically before killing him and bursting out of his corpse.
“Instead of manipulating the nervous system himself, of the insect, the Pleurocordyceps infiltrates and feeds directly on the vigorous tissue of Ophiocordyceps inside the host“, stated Seelan.
With a name inspired by its unique and clearly horn-shaped structure, the Pleurocordyceps cornusynnemata was discovered after scientists studied a dead ant collected in the Danum Valleya remote area in southern Sabah.
Not the first hyperparasite of this type, but “it is the first member of its genus known worldwide to present this characteristic horn-shaped structure”, said Seelan.
During field trips, scientists also discovered a new species of fungus that kills spiderswhich spreads spores across the arachnid before killing it.
“These newly documented fungi have immense potentialo… both as sources for the development of antimicrobial drugs new generation as while biocontrol agents highly effective against agricultural pests,” said Seelan.
