KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian scientists have discovered a new species of parasitic fungus in Borneo´s jungles that preys on “zombie fungus” that are known to infect insects before subjecting them to a gruesome death.
The new species was collected during multiple field trips conducted by the University of Malaysia Sabah´s Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation.
It was dubbed a “hyperparasite” because it “effectively parasitises the primary pathogen,” the institute´s Deputy Director Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan told AFP on Friday.
“The fungus belongs to the genus Pleurocordyceps and acts as a specialised hyperparasite,” Seelan said.
The new species targets ants already infected by Ophiocordyceps, or “zombie fungus”, which manipulates the infected insect´s nervous system and makes it behave erratically before killing it and bursting from its carcass.
“Rather than manipulating the insect´s nervous system itself, Pleurocordyceps infiltrates and feeds directly on the thriving Ophiocordyceps tissue inside the host,” Seelan said. Named after its unique, distinctly horn-shaped structure, Pleurocordyceps cornusynnemata was discovered after scientists studied a dead ant collected from the Danum Valley, a remote area in southern Sabah.
