Puppeteer Fungus Creates 'Zombie Flies' Boosting Its Locomotor Activity Before Dying

The molecular and cellular basis for the parasitic fungus Entomophthora muscae's (E. muscae) capacity to control the behavior of fruit flies is revealed in a new study by lead author Carolyn Elya, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard.

Parasitic fungus creates Zombie flies

(Photo : Egor Kamelev/ via Pexels)

Elya conducted research on the bacteria that fruit flies carry. To catch wild fruit flies, rotting fruit was left out, as per Phys.org.

She discovered zombie flies-flies that had died in an intriguing stance and had a banding pattern on their abdomens.

Elya established the putative cause, E. muscae, through DNA extraction and sequencing.

She said that climbing is crucial because it places the fly in a position that allows the fungus to spread to as many hosts as possible.

The fungus jumps onto its new host by building very specialized and temporary structures that pop through the fly's skin and shoot spores into the environment.

Elya developed a laboratory system that she calls the Entomophthora muscae-Drosophila melanogaster zombie fly system using the aid of the wild fungus isolate she found in her backyard.

Using this method, Elya was able to culture the fungus apart from the fly host in surroundings that were thought to mirror the fly's internal environment while also continuously infecting fruit flies, a popular laboratory host.

Elya set out to close this information gap about what occurs when flies summit.

Using this structure, she see how flies were behaving like zombies.

They discovered that summiting is essentially this burst of locomotor activity that starts around two and a half hours before the flies die.

With this finding, She and her co-authors were able to combine the potent fruit fly genetic toolkit with her technique for producing zombie flies on demand.

They were able to pinpoint the genes and neurons necessary for flies to peak using these tools along with the author's novel behavior experiment.

The team's discovery that fungal cells enter the fly brains in a planned manner and inhabit particular areas of the brain during summiting was made possible by this classification tool.

A fascinating finding made by the team was that exposure to the fungus compromises the blood brain barrier in flies.

Normal blood circulation within the fly's body shields the neurons from it.

There are significant ramifications for what the neurons are subjected to when the blood-brain barrier breaks down.

Potentially, this opens up a pathway for blood-borne substances to interact with brain neurons and modulate neural activity.

Also Read: How Fruit Fly's Fascinating Ability To Adapt To Climate Change Can Help Us Survive

How do fungi grow in fruit flies?

Insects' cuticles or skin are penetrated by fungi to get access. The fungus quickly spreads throughout the insect's body after entering, as per Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The fungus's poisons and occasionally tissue deterioration are what ultimately lead to death.

An infection can spread when spores produced by the fungus, which regularly leaves the insect's body, are inhaled by humans, animals, or other insects, or when they come into touch with other insects.

Infected insects stop foraging and sluggishness sets in. In an elevated site or in large numbers close to crop borders, they may pass away very quickly, perhaps standing up while still attached to a leaf or stem.

The body of the deceased insect can be hard and cheese-like or just an empty shell; it may also have cream, green, red, or brown fungal growth covering or protruding from joints and body parts.

Infected root maggot flies may be grouped on shoot tips, tall grasses, or other noticeable features, while infected aphids may be bloated and discolored.