Climate Change Can Cause Rare Event Hybridization, Turn Humans Into Infected Zombies Like Those on ‘The Last of Us’

Zombie movies and TV shows are a hit to many people, with "The Walking Dead" franchise thriving. However, scientists warn that the terrifying sights in those programs are not far-fetched due to climate change.

Climate Change Brings Hybridization

According to a new study from researchers in Barcelona, a rare occurrence known as hybridization brought on by climate change is where Candida orthopsilosis started, originating from two parent strains.

The novel super-strain has developed unique characteristics, including the ability to infect humans, grow at higher temperatures, and withstand antifungal medications.

Dr. Valentina del Olmo said it was observed that the ideal temperature for C. orthopsilosis strains to grow is 35°C and that they can withstand considerably greater temperatures. She notes that this is concerning because it opens the door to human infection because their tolerance exceeds the mammals' temperature barrier.

In a press release, the team revealed that C. orthopsilosis is related to Candida auris, sweeping through US medical facilities. The group stated that they think C. Auris is also a hybrid that originated in the sea and came to live with people in 2009.

This illness has already caused hundreds of outbreaks all across the world, with a 30 to 60% fatality rate. Researchers note that it might be the first microbe to turn pathogenic due to climate change.

Zombies In The 'Last Of Us' Depict Hybridization?

According to the researchers, hybrids may become increasingly prevalent due to globalization, changes in ecosystem conditions brought about by rising temperatures, and human activity like the widespread use of antibiotics and fungicides in agriculture.

According to Dr. Toni Gabaldón, the lead researcher from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), they have been trying to find out what causes some species found in our microbiome to be harmful to humans but not others. Their findings demonstrate that hybridization, which has not gotten much attention until now, enables the quick acquisition of characteristics that permit human infection. Thus, this mechanism in fungi may serve as a quick way to subjugate a species similar to ours.

Divergent genomes and alleles are combined into one cell during hybridization, increasing genomic plasticity and amplifying adaptability. When populations of two or more ancestral species collect mutations over time, the result is a divergent genome.

Additionally, an allele is one of two or more different gene variants resulting from a mutation located at the exact location on a chromosome.

As the researchers noted in a statement, they reportedly observed a plot on HBO Max's "The Last of Us," where a fungus rapidly develops an enormous capacity for infection, transmission, and virulence, which could annihilate humanity.

More than a million species of fungi are thought to exist at this time, most of which are suited to survive in cool or temperate climates found in soil, water, trees, plants, and animals like fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

Given that parental B coexists with a number of the hybrid clades that have already been found, these two lineages may hybridize in the warm seawater habitat.

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