ArticleBMC genomics2015
Gene expression during zombie ant biting behavior reflects the complexity underlying fungal parasitic behavioral manipulation.
Article in BMC genomics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 160 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ant brain metabolomics reveals contrasting purine and amine dynamics in a reversible trematode-induced host manipulation.Royal Society open science · 2026Article
- Integrative Multi-Omics Reveals Microbiome and Genome Streamlining Underlie Ecological Divergence in Chinese and XinjiangInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Metabarcoding reveals a hidden endophytic stage of the 'zombie-ant' fungus in Amazonian mosses.IMA fungus · 2026Article
- Extended phenotype of phytoplasmas in eukaryotic systems: mechanisms and ecological implications.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
- Zombie-ant fungi from western Mexico: six new species in thePersoonia · 2025Article
- Gene Expression Associated With Behaviour Manipulation in Wood Ants Infected With Larval Lancet Fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- The First of Us:bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Circadian rhythms: pervasive, and often times evasive.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Insect circadian plasticity as a proposed target for the expression of parasite extended phenotypes.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2025Review
- Description of two new species ofMycoKeys · 2025Article
- Consequences of "zombie-making" and generalist fungal pathogens on carpenter ant microbiota.Current research in insect science · 2025Article
- Article
- Viral- and fungal-mediated behavioral manipulation of hosts: summit disease.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Review
- Neurotransmitter acetylcholine mediates the mummification ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- With the dead under the mat: the zombie ant extended phenotype under a new perspective.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2024Article
- Cross-talk between immunity and behavior: insights from entomopathogenic fungi and their insect hosts.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Genomic comparative analysis ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Mannitol mediates the mummification behavior ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Clockwork intruders: Do parasites manipulate their hosts' circadian rhythms?Current research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2024Review
- Pathogen-Mediated Alterations of Insect Chemical Communication: From Pheromones to Behavior.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdaptive manipulation of animal behavior by parasites functions to increase parasite transmission through changes in host behavior. These changes can range from slight alterations in existing behaviors of the host to the establishment of wholly novel behaviors. The biting behavior observed in Carpenter ants infected by the specialized fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. is an example of the latter. Though parasitic manipulation of host behavior is generally assumed to be due to the parasite's gene expression, few studies have set out to test this.
resultsWe experimentally infected Carpenter ants to collect tissue from both parasite and host during the time period when manipulated biting behavior is experienced. Upon observation of synchronized biting, samples were collected and subjected to mixed RNA-Seq analysis. We also sequenced and annotated the O. unilateralis s.l. genome as a reference for the fungal sequencing reads.
conclusionsOur mixed transcriptomics approach, together with a comparative genomics study, shows that the majority of the fungal genes that are up-regulated during manipulated biting behavior are unique to the O. unilateralis s.l. genome. This study furthermore reveals that the fungal parasite might be regulating immune- and neuronal stress responses in the host during manipulated biting, as well as impairing its chemosensory communication and causing apoptosis. Moreover, we found genes up-regulated during manipulation that putatively encode for proteins with reported effects on behavioral outputs, proteins involved in various neuropathologies and proteins involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.