ST. PAUL — University of Minnesota researchers say they’ve discovered several naturally occurring parasitic fungi that could be weaponized against emerald ash borers, the invasive beetles responsible for killing millions of ash trees across Minnesota and the eastern United States.

Scientists found the fungi on Minnesota as wood samples, then cultivated them in the lab for closer study.

“We were seeing that a lot of the fungi that we were growing out of these ash trees were insect killers,” said Colin Peters, a graduate student and lead author of the research study. “We wanted to know: Can we use these or leverage the power of these fungi against the emerald ash borer itself?”

Turns out, they can.

Peters said that all 10 of the Minnesota fungi species they studied were all able to infec

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