Males would be attracted to particular chemicals emitted by the corpses of house flies infected with the fungus
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himMales would be irresistibly attracted to particular chemicals emitted by the corpses of house flies infected with the fungus.
A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences found that a fungus would be able to emit specific chemicals to trick male flies into mating with infected dead females. Already in a previous study it was found that some types of fungi, if ingested by the victims, can give rise to infections that inhibit the functions of their nervous system and push them to regurgitate spores. Now, this new study takes it a step further by showing that female victims also emit chemicals that can sexually attract males of the species.
The study focused on the fungus called Entomophthora muscae, capable of infecting various insects including house flies: the spores carried by the wind are deposited on the body of the females, penetrating under the skin, and quickly invading the whole organism - including the brain and nervous system. The chemicals produced by the spores encourage the female to start a frenzied climb towards a high point, such as a branch or a leaf: once there, the insect opens its wings and dies. Meanwhile, the mushroom has coated his entire body with small "cannons" full of spores. When the male, attracted by the chemicals, approaches the female's corpse and touches it to begin mating, the "cannons" fire, filling the air with spores which thus also infect the male and any other insects that have arisen.
(Read also: Crabs and shrimps are "sexually" attracted to polluting particles released from plastic waste)
In the lab, the researchers observed a group of female flies, some infected and some uninfected. The males were given the opportunity to choose the mate for mating and, needless to say, the choice always fell on the infected female. This suggested to scientists that the mushroom had some power in making infected females more sexually attractive to males, even if they were dead. By studying dead females, the researchers found traces of anonymous volatile compounds, including some chemical compounds called sesquiterpenes - usually not associated with house flies but generally capable of sexually attracting different types of insects. The presence of these substances would explain the otherwise inexplicable sexual appeal of males to females already dead.
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Fonte: bioRxiv
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