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Since the screening of the film The Last of Us, the Cordyceps mushroom has gone viral. In the series that airs on HBO, the Cordyceps fungus is said to be able to infect humans into zombies. Is it true that cordyceps mushrooms are dangerous?
Cordyceps is a genus of mushrooms. Biological scientist from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Professor Rosichon Ubaidillah MPhil, PhD, said that there are hundreds of species of Cordyceps, one of which is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a parasite that can infect insects.
This fungus can indeed turn ants into zombie hosts, and the hosts will be controlled to do everything from killing themselves to spreading parasitic fungal spores to other ants.
Don't worry, this fungus does not infect humans, but it can indeed be dangerous for insects such as ants. Because of that, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is called a zombie in ants.
"Ophiocordyceps unilateralis requires an ant host to complete its life cycle and spread spores to attack other ants quickly within 3-9 days so that infected ants become zombies," said Rosichon during live Eureka! Zombie attack, Monday (30/1/2023) night.
The process of becoming a zombie
He then explained the process of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis turning ants into zombies (zombieing). Once infected, the fungal cells in the ant's head will release chemical compounds into the ant's central nervous system and change the nervous system of the ant's brain.
"This causes ants to behave strangely, leave their colonies, climb plants, and sink their jaws into leaves or twigs before dying. Then their heads or bodies grow mycelia or stalks and release spores to infect other ants around them," he explained.
There are two chemical compounds in Ophiocordyceps, namely Guanidinobutyric Acid (GBA) and Sphingosine. These two compounds are likely involved in 'creating' the zombie ants because of their role in neurological disorders. GBA and Sphingosine contain toxic compounds such as enterotoxins, aflatrem, and other toxic compounds that can change behavior.
Ants actually have a sort of social immune system. But it turns out, Ophiocordyceps cannot be recognized by members of the ant colony so it remains in the group and endangers other ants in the group.
"Immunity in the colony, every member of the colony who is sick will be pulled out and thrown away from the colony so as not to infect other members. Based on the latest research, ants infected with Ophiocordyceps cannot be recognized by members of the colony, so they still spread spores everywhere," he explained .
Cordyceps mushroom potential for medicine
The Cordyceps mushroom is not only bad and scary as a zombie parasite. The other family of species, has the potential to be used in the field of biology for pest control in agriculture or biological control.
There are also other types of Cordyceps fungus, one of which is Cordyceps sinensis which has been developed as a medicine. Cordyceps sinensis was found to have cytotoxicity to cancer cells, meaning it can kill cancer cells and prevent further division and growth of cancer cells.
Then in 2020, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (now BRIN) tested Cordyceps militaris as an immunomodulator against COVID-19. The Cordyceps mushroom is said to have the power to improve a number of health problems, and has long been used in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine to cure various ailments such as respiratory disorders, to maintain immunity.
"Sorry I can't explain. (Cordyceps militaris as a drug for COVID-19) can be asked to friends in that section. But in essence, in Indonesia there are many species that have not been studied. This is a good opportunity because Indonesia is under the line The equator is very rich in microbes that have the potential for medicines, including drugs for COVID, cancer, and so on," he said.