Is Cordyceps Real?

Created By RISC | 2 years ago

Last modified date : 2 years ago

The popular series “The Last of Us” has sparked widespread interest in Cordyceps. Is this fungus real?​

Based on an award-winning game, the story is about a girl and a man who has lost his daughter traveling through a ruined world where Cordyceps has turned humans to zombies.​

​Cordyceps lives on our planet. There are about 400 species (with as many as 80 in a single country). This group of fungi affects insects such as ants, bees, wasps, spiders, dragonflies, and butterflies. The fungi form mycelia and spread over the host’s entire body, using the unfortunate insects as a home and food source.​

The most common variety (Cordyceps Unilateralis) controls the cerebral nervous system of ants, causing them to change their behavior, leaving their colonies and climbing trees, where they attach themselves. The fungus then spreads through airborne spores. A caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps Militaris) causes disease in moth larvae. "Wan Cicada" infects cicadas (Cordyceps Sobolifer) and is used by Thais as a talisman.​

Zombie fungi need to be studied further. In Thailand, there is currently research into active ingredients for treating fungal diseases. If we find them in nature, we should not eat or cook them. Because the group we meet might not be for medical purposes but could be life-threatening.​

Story by Kotchakorn Rattanama, Biodiversity Researcher, RISC ​

Reference:
สมศักดิ์ ศิวิชัย. (2544). เชื้อราทําลายแมลง. ชีวปริทรรศน์ 3(3): 9-12. ​
นิลาวัลย์ สุระป้อง และประไพรัตน์ สีพลไกร (2561). สารออกฤทธิ์ทางชีวภาพจากเชื้อรา Cordyceps ที่เก็บในประเทศไทย Bioactive compounds from Cordyceps fungi collected in Thailand. วารสารวิทยาศาสตร์ มข. ปีที่ 46 เล่มที่ 2. หน้า 186-200.