Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Spear-Shaped Spores and the Huaorani
The day after the night-time crash, Meyer discovered an orange club-shaped fruit-
ing body growing on a rotting tree trunk. He carefully cut into the wood with a
knife to reveal a large insect covered with mycelia and with the fruiting body pro-
truding from its abdomen. It was under attack from a
Cordyceps
fungus special-
ised in breaking down dead insects. The fungus, which mobilises an arsenal of
enzymes to break down the hard shell, is believed to have potent pharmacological
properties and is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Western scientists have also
shown interest in the substances secreted by this and other
Cordyceps
species.
Back at the research station we put the dead insect under the microscope,
where, once it had warmed up under the heat of the microscope light, we observed
javelin-shaped spores being emitted from the fruiting bodies. Sickly insects often
succumb to the spores and may carry a fungal infection for a long period before
eventually dying. It is said that infected insects isolate themselves from their con-
geners and may cover long distances to avoid spreading infection.
The spores made me think of the Huaorani people in the rainforest near the
station. They have never been conquered—by the Incas, by Spanish conquista-
dors or by other larger indigenous tribes. They are famous for their sharp spears,
made from the hardest wood and reputedly capable of killing fifteen men without
Potent spears. Cordyceps
fungi growing out of rotten tree trunks reveal where insects lie buried.
The insects can carry the fungal infection for a long time but eventually die, whereupon the fungi
build stately clubs to spread their spores to new insects. The photo shows our rainforest guide
carefully cutting out the dead insect with his knife
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