New ‘Zombie’-creating Fungus Found in Brazilian Rainforests, Study Says

Researchers say they have identified four new species of parasitic fungi that infect ants in the Brazilian rainforest and take over their bodies. The fungi then manipulate the brains of the ants and cause them to climb to a spot in the jungle canopy ideal for the fungi to reproduce and spread their spores, according to the researchers. Once their host, the so-called “zombie” ant, dies, a single fungal stalk grows from the insect’s neck, eventually spreading spores that infect other ants. While scientists originally believed there was one fungal species, researchers at Penn State University say they have identified four distinct species from the Ophiocordyceps genus after noticing different types of fungal growths from the ant victims. “This potentially means thousands of zombie fungi in tropical forests across the globe await discovery,” said David Hughes, a PSU entomologist and leader of study published in the online journal PLoS ONE. “We need to ramp up sampling — especially given the perilous state of the environment.”