Fungus Makes Zombie Ants Do All the Work

Many fungi can only flourish at a certain temperature, humidity, and location. One fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, will infect a specific ant species, known as Camponotus leonardi, or tropical carpenter ants. These ants inhabit the rainforest in Thailand and can become infected when they come in contact with the spores released by the fungus. The fungus will alter the behavior of the host ant by damaging muscles and the ant's central nervous system, causing the ant to climb down from the trees, away from its normal habitat. The infected ants will then travel to a very precise location and chomp down on a vein on the underside of a leaf. This location provides ideal conditions for the fungus to thrive. Once the ants attach themselves to the leaves, they die. From there, the fungus O. unilateralis, will sprout from a specific point at the back of the ant's head. Fungal spores are then released into the air, which rain down onto ants on the forest floor, starting the cycle over again.

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the fungus causing the "zombie ant" infection, is a parasitic fungus that alters the behavior of the ants in order to ensure the widespread distribution of its spores (wikipedia.org). This fungus thrives in the tropical forests of Africa, Brazil, and Thailand. It targets a specific host species, the Camponotus leonardi ant. The O. unilateralis spores will enter the body of the insect through its respiratory spiracles, where they begin to consume the non-viral soft tissue (wikipedia.org). The fungus uses the ant to carry itself to its ideal growing habitat; which is the underside of a leaf on the north side of a plant, about 25 cm above the ground, with about 95% humidity, and temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.

The O. unilateralis fungus contains various known and untapped bioactive metabolites, and is being investigated as a new source of natural drugs with immunomodulatory, antitumor, hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic functions (wikipedia.org).

References

Harmon, Katherine (2009, July 31). Fungus Makes Zombie Ants Do All the Work. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com

Wikipedia (Cordyceps unilateralis). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org

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