Cicada Fungus Might Have Medical Potential

One of the amino acids causes the peptide to coil into a helical structure, said Donna Gibson of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. This may be useful for engineering molecules, because most drugs and pesticides are modeled after the chemical structures of natural products.

Researchers also found that the fungus, Cordyceps heteropoda, produces myriocin, a compound other scientists are researching that could be a key to preventing post-transplant organ rejection in humans.

Americans are most familiar with the cicada species pictured here, Magicicada septendecimthe. This is the species that emerge from the ground in droves every 17 years to mate, mostly in the eastern United States, cluttering up sidewalks, yards, and fly into peoples' heads.

The recent findings have been described in the Journal of Natural Products.

--Bjorn Carey

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Credit: ARS Information Staff