Ophiocordyceps
Ophiocordyceps is a genus of fungi within the Ophiocordycipitaceae family.[2] The widespread genus, first described scientifically by British mycologist Tom Petch in 1931,[3] contains about 140 species that grow on insects.[4] Anamorphic genera that correspond with Ophiocordyceps species are Hirsutella, Hymenostilbe, Paraisaria, and Syngliocladium.[5]
The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is known for its parasitism on ants, in which it alters the behavior of the ants in such a way as to propagate itself more effectively.[6] The fungus attacks the brain of the ant, causing it to abandon its colony. The ant then bites into the fleshy part of a leaf and stays locked in that position until it dies. The fungus is then able to spread from the ant's body to the leaf in order to repeat the cycle.[7]
Species
References
- ^ "Ophiocordyceps Petch 1931". MycoBank. Internationaol Mycological Association. http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=3598. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
- ^ Lumbsch TH, Huhndorf SM. (December 2007). "Outline of Ascomycota – 2007". Myconet (The Field Museum, Department of Botany, Chicago, USA) 13: 1–58. http://www.fieldmuseum.org/myconet/outline.asp.
- ^ Petch T. (1931). "Notes on entomogenous fungi". Transactions of the British Mycological Society 16 (1): 55–75. doi:10.1016/S0007-1536(31)80006-3. http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59351/0016/001/0055.htm.
- ^ Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA. (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 483. ISBN 9780851998268.
- ^ Sung G-H, Hywel-Jones NL, Sung J-M, Luangsa-ard JJ, Shrestha B, Spatafora JW. (2007). "Phylogenetic classification of Cordyceps and the clavicipitaceous fungi". Studies in Mycology 57: 5–59. doi:10.3114/sim.2007.57.01. PMC 2104736. PMID 18490993. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2104736.
- ^ Pontoppidan M-B, Himaman W, Hywel-Jones NL, Boomsma JJ, Hughes DP. (2009). "Graveyards on the move: the spatio-temporal distribution of dead Orphiocordyceps-infected ants". PLoS ONE 4 (3): e4835. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004835. PMC 2652714. PMID 19279680. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2652714.
- ^ In Fossilized Leaf, Clues to a Zombie Ant, by Sindya N Bhanoo New York Times 24 August, 2010
External links