How Do Fungal Pesticides Work?

Biopesticides made from fungi may be the key to safe, effective pest control in the future. Learn how they work in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/fungus-based-pesticides-might-be-green-solution-future.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff Lauren voglebom here. Poisoning various things in nature
is big business. In the year the last time that
the United States Environmental Protection Agency published a report on
the subject, chemical pesticide sales in the US amounted to

(00:22):
nearly fourteen billion dollars. That's around one point one billion
pounds or or half a billion kilos of chemicals like chlorine, formaldehyde,
and arsenic pumped into the landscape in a single year.
But let's face it, we wouldn't have as robust and
agricultural system if it weren't for pesticides killing unwanted critters.

(00:44):
But let's also face it, synthetic pesticides don't just affect
the targeted organisms. Our heavy insecticide use isn't doing humans
are pollinators, or our wildlife neighbors any favors either. But
imagine a pesticide that could fend off unwanted insects while
believing everybody else alone. It is possible. The technology exists,

(01:06):
but it requires approval by the e p A and
that we become okay with the idea of weaponizing parasitic
fungi to feed on the innerds of insects for our
own agricultural gain. Let me explain much of the promising
new research centers around fungi that kill or disable insects.
They're part of a category of pesticides called biopesticides because

(01:28):
they work thanks to biologically occurring substances, including chemicals, microorganisms
like fungi, and substances made by genetically engineered plants. But
the fungal pesticides are of particular interest because while some
biopesticides merely fend off pests or screw up their mating cycles,
these fungus based ones take no prisoners. Mycologist Paul Statements

(01:53):
has patented to fungus based insecticides, one that's targeted towards
fire ants, carpenter ants, and termites and other bot a
more general audience of around two hundred thousand insects species.
These pesticides seem delicious enough to lower insects to them,
and once the bugs have eaten them, the fungi sporelates
and sprouts inside them, feeding on their internal tissue until

(02:15):
they die and a tiny mushroom sprouts from their heads,
which is how you know it worked. Fungi are living things,
just like insects, are capable of evolving and adapting. Many
synthetic pesticides have lost efficacy over the years because the
target insects have evolved a built up tolerance to them.
The ones that were killed off by the pesticide, after all,

(02:36):
have bless of a chance to breed and pass their
susceptible genes onto the next generation. But like any other
relationship between parasite and host, predator and prey, the fungus
based biopesticides have the ability to evolve right along with
any adaptation that the insects might come up with to
hinder them. They're also non toxic to humans and other wildlife,

(02:57):
including bees and other good poll naters, which have really
taken the brunt of our love affair with chemical pesticides
over the years. Some of the downsides of fungal pesticides
are price and finickiness. They could easily cost farmers twenty
times more than what they're used to paying for pesticides,
and like other living things, they are sensitive to environmental

(03:18):
conditions like temperature and humidity. Hopefully that cost would come
down with further research and adoption, and wouldn't it all
be worth it? If we could find a way to
protect our crops without endangering ourselves. Today's episode is based
on the article Fungus based pesticides Maybe the Green solution

(03:41):
of the Future on houstaf works dot com, written by
Jesslin Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio
in partnership with houstuf works dot com, and it's produced
by Kyler Klain. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio.
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