When zombies go vegan: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis hosts are selecting to bite palm leaves before dying?

IF 1.3 4区 环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY
Fernando S. Andriolli , J. Aragão Cardoso Neto , Paul V.A. Fine , Diego Salazar , Giovanna Figueroa , Diego V. Torres , J. Wellington de Morais , Fabricio B. Baccaro
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Abstract

Some parasites that modify hosts' behavior can receive reproductive advantages. For instance, when infected by Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l., ants climb understory plants, lock their jaws into the plant tissue, and die in stable microclimatic conditions that favor the reproductive stage of the fungus. However, the so-called “zombie ants” could die on different species of plants, subject to varying environmental pressures. Here, we investigated whether infected ants lock their jaws on particular species of understory plants more often than expected before dying from the infection. We hypothesize that there may be different reproductive advantages to the parasite based on the plant species on which its hosts die. Our findings reveal that 36.3% of the infected ants died on palm trees, specifically Attalea sp. and Euterpe catinga, more frequently than expected by chance. Also, we found that cadavers tend to persist longer on palms than other plants. Our results suggest that there may be a reproductive advantage for the parasite when its hosts die on palm leaves. Palms generally have long leaf durability, which can reduce parasite cadaver loss by foliar abscission and increase cumulative spore dispersal. Furthermore, we propose abundant plant species with no observance of cadavers potentially have traits like trichome coating and antifungal compounds that may influence the arrival and permanence of new zombie ants. Our results show that infected ants dying on certain understory palm species may increase the fungus’ fitness.
僵尸什么时候变成素食主义者:单边虫草宿主在死前选择咬棕榈叶?
一些改变宿主行为的寄生虫可以获得繁殖优势。例如,当蚂蚁被单侧蛇虫草(Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l)感染时,它们会爬上林下植物,将下颚锁在植物组织中,并在有利于真菌繁殖阶段的稳定小气候条件下死亡。然而,所谓的“僵尸蚂蚁”可能会死于不同种类的植物上,受到不同的环境压力。在这里,我们调查了感染的蚂蚁在死于感染之前是否比预期更频繁地将下巴锁在特定种类的林下植物上。我们假设,根据寄主死亡的植物种类,寄生虫可能有不同的生殖优势。我们的研究结果表明,36.3%的受感染蚂蚁死在棕榈树上,特别是Attalea sp.和Euterpe catinga,比预期的更频繁。此外,我们发现尸体在棕榈树上比在其他植物上停留的时间更长。我们的研究结果表明,当寄主死在棕榈叶上时,寄生虫可能具有繁殖优势。棕榈树一般具有较长的叶片耐久性,这可以减少寄生虫因叶片脱落而造成的尸体损失,增加孢子的累积扩散。此外,我们提出大量没有观察到尸体的植物物种可能具有诸如毛状涂层和抗真菌化合物等特性,这些特性可能会影响新僵尸蚂蚁的到来和持久性。我们的研究结果表明,受感染的蚂蚁在某些林下棕榈物种上死亡可能会增加真菌的适合度。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
57
审稿时长
>0 weeks
期刊介绍: Acta Oecologica is venue for the publication of original research articles in ecology. We encourage studies in all areas of ecology, including ecosystem ecology, community ecology, population ecology, conservation ecology and evolutionary ecology. There is no bias with respect to taxon, biome or geographic area. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome, but combinations are particularly sought. Priority is given to papers based on explicitly stated hypotheses. Acta Oecologica also accepts review papers.
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