Can cordyceps evolve and infect humans?
I learned about cordyceps infecting ants on BBC. Then The Last of Us made me think what if it evolved and took over human brain's? Would the fungi adapt still need food, water and etc.? If so would it be violent and attack and kill animals and humans for food? Also how fast would this evolved cordyceps infect people? What are your thoughts? Do you think it might be a possibility?
Could Cordyceps evolve to infect humans, and would it have to first evolve to infect simpler vertebrates?
There is not a need for a parasite to work its way up the evolutionary ladder (which doesn't really exist except in terms of relative complexity anyway). In fact, either it, or a similar species produces compounds that affect the human immune system (cyclosporine seems to be from a related species according to Wikipedia). However, the physiology of insects and humans is very different. Species specifically adapted to one don't usually jump to the other. Obviously there is an exception for parasites of humans that use arthropods as vectors and/or intermediate hosts. However, I don't think they followed the pathway you lay out in the question. Specific to this case, the brain of insects is very different from ours. I doubt that we are in for a zombie apocalypse because this fungus takes us over. Still, there is some evidence that toxoplasma which affects rat brains to make them basically like (as in attracted to, not similar to) cats, CAN have a related effect in some humans. However, humans and rats are far more similar than humans and insects (which could sort of argue part of your point in the question).
What is Cordyceps Brain Infection?
Cordyceps unilateralis is a fungus that attacks the CNS of certain species of ants. In the video game 'The Last of Us', nearly 60% of humanity has been either killed or infected by a cordyceps fungus, referred to as Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI). This is fictional and your cousin is BS-ing you. http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/Cordyc...
Would it be possible that the ophiocordyceps unilateralis (fungi affecting ants) could develop and affect humans?
Aloha Zombie Lovers,So far so good , But what if…Could humans be infected by this?No, not at the moment. Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis only infects carpenter ants, and no other species. However, Cordyceps Ignota infects tarantulas in a similar way, and Ophiocordyceps ignota infects stink bugs. There are arguments over the possibility of the Cordyceps fungus to mutate and affect humans, but there is no evidence that proves this.ÂWho knows what other zombie-like things might be dreamed[nightmare]up .But just as this now isn’t a threat , the same with ISIS due to climate changes : Global Warming causes the ices to melt .
What evolvement would be needed for Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (zombie fungus) for it to be able to infect humans?
Well, there are quite a few mutations that O. unilateralis would need to undergo before being able to successfully infect a human.-It would need to develop a coping mechanism in order to switch from ectotherms to endotherms. - Assuming that you are wondering if the 'zombie fungus' will still display behavioral pattern change upon its host, it would need to mutate greatly in order to achieve the same result. It is not known to me exactly how the fungus illicits behavioral change in ants; but to do so in humans would require a very specialized way of manipulating the brain's chemistry.- It would need to develop a way around our not insignificant immune system.- It would need to find a way to pass the blood-brain barrier alive.- It would need a new infection vector. Our skin is our first line of defense for our immune system, and is somewhat toxic to microbial entities due to sweat, heat, and thickness. This is in contrast to its normal infection vector of residing on the carapace of an ant and eating its way through.- It would need a dormancy period where it could grow in numbers without being detected by the body. Typical infection lasts about 4 - 10 days for an ant. I would assume a somewhat longer time frame for a human, but such rapid growth would kill the host long before the paracite was able to become reprodutive. At this point, you're looking at a totally different organism.