{"id":1218,"date":"2023-03-17T21:04:10","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T21:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/?p=1218"},"modified":"2023-03-17T21:07:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T21:07:34","slug":"parasitic-fungus-in-brazil-that-infects-and-causes-the-death-of-spiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/17\/parasitic-fungus-in-brazil-that-infects-and-causes-the-death-of-spiders\/","title":{"rendered":"The death of spiders a newly discovered parasitic fungus in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is believed by scientists that a previously unknown parasitic fungus has been found in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest, which targets trapdoor spiders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The uncommon purple organism<\/strong> is classified among a cluster of fungi that infect invertebrates and dominate the host. A detailed picture depicts the fungus enwrapped around the trapdoor spider’s body as it protrudes out of its burrow, where the arachnid captures insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers stated that there is no indication that the recently discovered parasitic fungus manipulates the actions of trapdoor spiders prior to their demise, similar to their zombie-ant fungal counterparts. These fungi overpower the insects and deceive them into abandoning their homes and spreading their spores, as portrayed in the post-apocalyptic TV series and game, The Last of Us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, while exploring the forests north of Rio de Janeiro to document the region’s biodiversity and search for undiscovered species, the fungus was discovered. However, before it is officially recognized as a new species, it must undergo a formal scientific description process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo, a Brazilian mycologist with the New York Botanical Garden<\/a>, who discovered the fungus, expressed admiration, calling it “It\u2019s a really beautiful thing” Despite being undecided on a name, he mentioned that the fungus has the distinctive trait of infecting trapdoor spiders and is among the scarce cordyceps species that have a striking purple color, making it a remarkable discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe don\u2019t know much about this fungal group because it\u2019s very understudied. This kind of fungus has been collected very few times in the world, mostly in Thailand. This will likely be the first time we sequence a species like this from Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\nSaid Dr. Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Atlantic rainforest, which was once spread over 15% of Brazil, is presently considered one of the most vulnerable ecosystems globally. Unfortunately, it has now been significantly fragmented, with just 20% of the original forest remaining<\/a>. Despite this, the region is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and is home to many species, including the golden lion tamarin monkey and the painted tree rat, that are exclusive to this area and found nowhere else on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team of experts in plants, fungi, frogs, snakes, and birds, from various organizations including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, among others, embarked on an expedition to the rainforest to observe and document its remaining biodiversity. Utilizing state-of-the-art portable technology, the scientists sequenced the fungus’s genome on-site during the expedition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The photograph captured by Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo depicts a harvestman spider with a possibly new parasitic fungus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The scientists speculate that they may have come across additional fungal parasites during their excursion, but they require further investigation to confirm. These discoveries involve a fungus that parasitizes harvestman spiders and another that targets dung beetles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe new species that attacks trapdoor spiders belongs to a mega-diverse group of fungi,\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know about 1% of its diversity, so we know very little. Foundational scientific work is needed so we can, perhaps, investigate new medical compounds or use them to protect against pests in crops.\u201d<\/p>\nSaid Dr. Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Oscar Alejandro P\u00e9rez Escobar, the lead researcher, and Dr. Natalia Przelomska, who performed sequencing in the field, their findings support the idea of a new species and could expedite the process of identifying other species in endangered ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHere at Kew, we have access to big DNA sequencing machines and all sorts of ways to produce data. That is often so much harder in biodiverse countries.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo what was really special about the field trip was that we could go and use some of the newest DNA sequencing technologies with the people working there. It\u2019s one small step in this really big problem of unequal access.\u201d<\/p>\nSaid Przelomska<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is believed by scientists that a previously unknown parasitic fungus has…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1218"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1223,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions\/1223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yareport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}