Overview

• Massospora cicadina hijacks cicadas, making them hypersexual to spread its spores as an STD.
• The fungus has the largest known genome of any fungus, with 1.5 billion base pairs.
• Researchers are collecting infected cicadas nationwide for RNA analysis.
• Infected cicadas replace genitalia with a white, gummy plug that disperses spores.
• The fungus does not kill cicadas but alters their behavior to ensure its spread.