Behind the apocalyptic fiction of the series The Last of Ustelevision adaptation of the homonymous video game, an element of truth is hidden: the mushrooms of the genre Cordycepsresponsible for the pandemic in the script, they really exist in nature, they are axes widespread in Asia who act as parasites on different species of insectsaltering the behavior and transforming them into “zombie” also infect human beings representing a danger to health, the answer is Nothe species of cordyceps are pathogenic only in insects and are unable to survive at high temperatures such as those of the human body and to infect a complex nervous system like that of our body. These kittens take possession of insect bodies, paralyze them, grow inside and reproduce by releasing the spores in the environment capable of infecting other individuals.
How cordyceps transforms insects into zombies: what does it do
There are several species of parasitic mushrooms belonging to the Cordyceps genre, the two best known and studied are Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, commonly known as “Mushroom of the zombie ants“which inspires the story of The Last of UsAnd Cordyceps Sinensis, also known as “Bruco mushroom“And in China as Yartsa Ganbuoit is widely used as a remedy in traditional Chinese medicine and as a food supplement or revigorative tonic, although its benefits are not fully supported by scientific evidence.
Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis infect the ants and other insects, controlling their behavior until they are to abnormal movements and convulsions. The proliferation mushroom inside the ant and, before dying, the infected animal clings to a surface, allowing the mushroom to develop a fruits who appears from his head and releases spore To infect other ants. This cycle repeats itself, leaving the Mummified exoskeletons ants. The molecular mechanisms behind this behavioral modification are still largely unknown.
Because the mushrooms of The Last of Us do not infect humans
In the video game and in the TV series, the mushrooms that infect humans cannot survive if the internal guest temperature is greater than 34 ° C. This is also reflected in reality, most fungal species, in fact, are unable to infect hot -blooded organisms; the 36 ° C of the human body They are too many mushrooms that prefer a temperature range between 25 and 30 ° C. Also a immune system evolved like that of human beings and the sophisticated physiology of nervous tissue They avoid the possibilities of “becoming zombie”.
However, we too can be victims of some fungal infections, such as those from Candida Auris or the municipalities skin mycosiswhere mushrooms find an ideal environment to proliferate in wetlands ea lower than body average temperaturelike skin folds .. and if mushrooms become resistant to higher temperatures? THE’evolution Of mushrooms capable of infecting mammals would be a complex process that would take millions of years. The parasitic mushrooms are highly specific for their insect guestsmaking the jump to man unlikely. The increase in temperatures, in the field of global warming, could reduce this protection, promoting the evolution of heat resistant mushrooms and potentially capable of infecting the man. This is precisely what, according to the hypotheses of some experts, happened with infections from Candida Aurisan unknown mushroom until 2007 and suddenly appeared in 2011-2012 on several continents.
There are other arguments in favor of the averting an imminent “apocalypse zombie” in the Last of Us style, the series differs from reality also as regards the transmission of the parasite In humans, which takes place through bites between infected individuals, a phenomenon that does not take place in nature, not even among insects. The fungal diffusion commonly takes place by horizontal transmission through spores released in the surrounding environment that disperse in the ground or in the air and germinating give rise to other myeli and therefore to other mushrooms. Another contrasting element is the lack of care for Cordyceps infections; Several antifungal drugs are available in medicine to combat these pathogens.
