The zombie ant fungus

Scientific classification: -
Domain eukaryote
Habit and Habitat Kingdom
Division
fungi
Ascomycota
The Ophiocordyceps unilateris is also known as the zombie ant fungus Class Sordariomycetes
It is an insect pathogenic fungus Order Hypocreales
Found predominately in tropical forest
Family ophiocordycipitacea
Infects the camponotini tribe of the ant species
Genus Ophiocordyceps
Species o. unilateralis
How it infects the host
The ants get infected when they descend to the forest floor
The spores of the fungus attach to their exoskeleton and eventually break through
The enzyme involved in this process are chitinase, lipase, and protease combined with mechanical
pressure
Spread in ant’s body and produce compound that affects the hemocoel to manipulate the ant’s
behavioral patterns
It’s host specific and has different species that infects different host

Life cycle
After the fungus infects its host, the behavior of the host tuned for the benefit of the fungus
The ant clamps to a leaf vein at a height of 26 cm above the forest floor of 95% humidity and 20 ° - 30°C
temperature
Destroys the sarcomere connection in the muscle fibre and reduces mitochondria and sarcoplasmic
reticulum
The ant can no longer able to control its muscle and remain fixed place and this lockjaw trait is popularly
known as death grip
The fungus then kills the ant continues to grow and more mycelia sprout out of the ant anchoring it to
the plant substrate while secreting antibacterial to ward off competition
At the reproducing stage its fruiting body grows from the ant’s head and rupture releasing the spore
This process takes 4 – 10 days
The spore then infects the nearby ants

Why it’s called zombie ant fungus

O. unilateralis life cycle includes and depends the infection and the manipulation of the ant
It makes the ant to fall from its high canopy nest onto the forest floor
Then controlling the climbing of ant and the locking of its jaw onto to a leaf around 25cm above the
ground
Controls the behaviour of the before killing it
And protects the carcass/corps the host from microbial and scavenger attack
The behavioural manipulation is attended by the presence of huge fungal population besides the host’s
brain and within the muscle

Host impact
When O. unilateralis infected ants die, they are mainly located in regions containing a high density of ants
which are previously manipulated and killed
These areas are termed as “graveyards” and can be 20 – 30 meters in range
The density of dead ants within these graveyards varies according to the climate condition
The environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature influence the effect on the host
population
According to the infection rate increases during the rainy season and decrease during dry season

Host adaption
The ants evolved some adaptive behaviours to limit the contact rate between susceptible and infected
ants, there by reducing the risk of transmission
The ants clean each other’s exoskeleton to decrease the presence of spore attached
When an ant senses a member of colony is infected, the healthy ants carry the infected one far away
from the colony to avoid exposer to spores
Some also avoid the forest floor as a defence method

In fiction
The television series The last of us reveals the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis to be the primary cause of the
infection outbreak and subsequent collapse of human civilization
The fungus having adapted to the higher temperatures due to climate change and takes control of
humans as an alternative host
It causes them exhibit behaviour such as the desire to attack and infect the non-infected humans