Entomophthora

Entomophthora is a fungal genus in the family Entomophthoraceae. Species in this genus are parasitic on flies and other two-winged insects. The genus was circumscribed by German physician Johann Baptist Georg Wolfgang Fresenius (1808–1866) in 1856. This fungus is parasitic and undergoes a number of stages within its life cycle, these include: infection, incubation, sporulation and mummification. Within each stage, this pathogen invades the host's body cells, utilising the insect's nutrients allowing it to take control over the brain just before the host's death. Entomophthora reproduces asexually through both budding and spores. When in the host's body, the pathogen utilises budding as a form of growth. This is done through a fungus cell developing a bud (daughter cell) on the parent cell. The parent cell then replicates its DNA and provides the daughter cell with this DNA. The daughter cell is then able to detach itself from the parent cell resulting in multiplication of the fungus. S......read more on Wikipedia.