Four New Species of Zombie Ant Fungi Discovered in Brazilian Rainforest
ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2011) — Four new Brazilian species in the genus Ophiocordyceps have been published in the online journal PLoS ONE. The fungi, named by Dr. Harry Evans and Dr. David Hughes, belong to a group of "zombifying" fungi that infect ants and then manipulate their behavior, eventually killing the ants after securing a prime location for spore dispersal.
Beyond this important milestone, the paper is noteworthy for the attention it draws to undiscovered, complex, biological interactions in threatened habitats. The four new species all come from the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil which is the most heavily degraded biodiversity hotspot on the planet. Ninety-two percent of its original coverage is gone.
a) Original plate from the 1865 Selecta Fungorum Carpologia of the Tulasne brothers [4], illustrating the holotype of Ophiocordyceps (Torrubia) unilateralis and said to be on the leaf-cutting ant, Atta cephalotes; b) Detail from plate showing the distinctive pronotal plate of Camponotus sericeiventris, as well as a side view of the host which is clearly a carpenter ant and not a leaf-cutter; compare with c) Live worker of C. sericeiventris showing the spines on the pronotal plate (arrow). (Credit: Harry C. Evans et al. PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017024)
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Journal Reference:
- Harry C. Evans, Simon L. Elliot, David P. Hughes. Hidden Diversity Behind the Zombie-Ant Fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis: Four New Species Described from Carpenter Ants in Minas Gerais, Brazil. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (3): e17024 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017024
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