Ant Zombies Or Ophiocordyceps unilateralis:

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is an insect-pathogenic fungus discovered in 1859 by British

naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and found primarily in tropical forest environments today. O.
unilateralis infects ants of the Campanini tribe, and the entire pathogenesis is defined by
changes in the infected ant's behavioral behaviors. Infected hosts leave their canopy nests and
foraging tracks for the forest floor, where the temperature and humidity are ideal for fungal
growth; they then attach themselves to a large vein on the underside of a leaf using their
mandibles, where the host will remain after death. The process of death takes 4–10 days and
includes a reproductive stage in which fruiting bodies grow from the ant's head and burst,
releasing the fungus's spores. O. unilateralis is also sensitive to fungal infection, which can limit
its impact on ant populations that would otherwise be devastating. which has otherwise been
known to devastate ant colonies.

Evidence Of Existence:
 Penn State University researchers provided fresh information about zombie ants, one of
Earth's strangest natural phenomena, on November 8, 2017. Carpenter ants in tropical
areas have been infiltrated and controlled by the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis
sensu lato, also known as the zombie ant fungus.
 Dr. Hughes and his colleagues discovered a 48-million-year-old fossil of a zombie ant
holding a leaf in its death grip in 2010. The discovery proved that zombifying fungus
have existed for a long time. However, it provided no clues as to how the fungus
originated from its common relatives.

Methodology:
Don't look to science fiction for the world's most heinous examples of mind control. Instead,
travel to a tropical country such as Brazil and explore the rainforest. Find a leaf that is nearly 25
cm above the forest floor, no more, no less. Now take a look beneath it. You might find an ant
clinging to the leaf's central vein, jaws squeezed tight for dear life, if you're lucky. However, this
ant's life has already come to an end. The zombie-ant fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is
responsible for its body.
When a carpenter ant is infected, the fungus spreads throughout the insect's body, depleting its
nutrients and taking over its intellect. It forces the ant to leave the protection of its nest and
climb a neighboring plant stem over the course of a week. It brings the ant to a halt at a height
of 25 centimeters, which is the ideal temperature and humidity for the fungus to thrive. It
makes the ant's mandibles permanently lock around a leaf. It grows into a bulbous capsule full
of spores after sending a lengthy stalk through the ant's head. Because the ant usually climbs a
leaf that overhangs its colony's foraging pathways, the fungus spores rain down on its sisters
below, turning them into zombies.
David Hughes, a Pennsylvania State University entomologist who has been researching it for
years. He's curious about how this puppet master manages his puppets, and his recent studies
indicate that it's much creepier than it appears.
When the fungus initially enters its host, it appears as single cells floating about the ant's
bloodstream, budding off new copies of itself. However, these single cells eventually start
cooperating. They communicate with one another by forming small tubes similar to those
found solely in plant-infecting fungi. They can interact and share nutrients since they are
connected in this way. They can also begin to invade the ant's muscles by entering the muscle
cells or expanding into the gaps between them. The end result is a red muscle fiber ringed and
drained by a network of interconnected yellow fungal cells, this is a feature that only
Ophiocordyceps has. Hughes' team discovered that a parasitic fungus that kills ants but does
not control their minds penetrates into muscles but does not create tubes between individual
cells or wire itself into huge networks. When Hughes or anybody else talks about the zombie-
ant fungus, they refer to it as a single creature that corrupts and subverts a host. But, like the
ants it eats, you may think of the fungus as a colony. Individual microscopic cells begin their
lives on their own, but eventually merge together to form a superorganism. These brainless
cells can take over the brain of a much larger species if they band together.
Surprisingly, they can accomplish this without ever touching the brain itself. Fungal cells infect
the ant's entire body, including its head, but not its brain, according to Hughes' research.
manipulation of ants by Ophiocordyceps is so exquisitely precise that it is perhaps surprising
that the fungus doesn't invade the brain of its host,” Weiner smith says.
Assignment # 1
Hoor Khattak