Genus of fungi
Ophiocordyceps is a genus of fungi within the family Ophiocordycipitaceae .[ 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 , Isaria , Paraisaria , and Syngliocladium .[ 5]
One species complex , 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, killing the ant and then growing its fruiting bodies from the ant's head and releasing its spores .[ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
To accomplish this, infected ants are stripped of their instinctive fear of heights, and leaving the relative safety of their nests, climb up the nearest plant—a syndrome known as "summit disease".[ 9]
The ant clamps it jaws around the plant in a "death grip" and following, mycelia grow from the ant's feet and stitch them to the surface of the plant.[ 9] The spores released from the ant carcass fall to the ground and infect other ants that come in contact with the spores so that this cycle continues.[ 10] Areas with high densities of ants that have this fungus growing out of them are known as graveyards.[ 11]
A 48-million-year-old fossil of an ant in the death-grip of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis was discovered in Germany.[ 12]
Sources and uses
Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a species that infects the larvae of Tibetan ghost moths , and is used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine .[ 13] [ 14] [ 15] There is currently no scientific evidence that use of this species has any clinically detectable effect on human diseases.[ 14]
Species
Reference: [ 16]
In popular culture
Simply referred to as "cordyceps", an unspecified species in this genus is the cause of a worldwide pandemic and the zombie-like "infected" in the 2013 video game The Last of Us and the 2023 television adaptation .
In the 2014 novel The Girl with All the Gifts and its 2016 film adaptation , a mutation of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is responsible for an infection that causes the collapse of civilization.
In the 2022 comic-book series Poison Ivy written by G. Willow Wilson , the titular character makes use of a fictitious species belonging to this genus.
The Pokémon Paras and Parasect are based on insects parasitized by Ophiocordyceps .
See also
References
^ "Ophiocordyceps Petch 1931" . MycoBank . International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2011-07-19 .
^ Lumbsch TH, Huhndorf SM (December 2007). "Outline of Ascomycota – 2007" . Myconet . 13 . Chicago, USA: The Field Museum, Department of Botany: 1–58.
^ 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 .
^ Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 483. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8 .
^ 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 .
^ Bhanoo SN (24 August 2010). "In Fossilized Leaf, Clues to a Zombie Ant" . The New York Times .
^ Zimmer C (24 October 2019). "After This Fungus Turns Ants Into Zombies, Their Bodies Explode" . The New York Times .
^ Evans HC, Elliot SL, Hughes DP (March 2011). "Hidden diversity behind the zombie-ant fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis: four new species described from carpenter ants in Minas Gerais, Brazil" . PLOS ONE . 6 (3): e17024. Bibcode :2011PLoSO...617024E . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0017024 . PMC 3047535 . PMID 21399679 .
^ a b Sheldrake, Merlin (2021). Entangled Life . New York: Random House. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-525-51032-1 .
^ Pontoppidan, Maj-Britt; Himaman, Winanda; Hywel-Jones, Nigel L.; Boomsma, Jacobus J.; Hughes, David P. (2009-03-12). "Graveyards on the Move: The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Dead Ophiocordyceps-Infected Ants" . PLOS ONE . 4 (3): e4835. Bibcode :2009PLoSO...4.4835P . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0004835 . ISSN 1932-6203 . PMC 2652714 . PMID 19279680 .
^ Pontoppidan, Maj-Britt; Himaman, Winanda; Hywel-Jones, Nigel L.; Boomsma, Jacobus J.; Hughes, David P. (2009-03-12). "Graveyards on the Move: The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Dead Ophiocordyceps-Infected Ants" . PLOS ONE . 4 (3): e4835. Bibcode :2009PLoSO...4.4835P . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0004835 . ISSN 1932-6203 . PMC 2652714 . PMID 19279680 .
^ Hughes, David P.; Wappler, Torsten; Labandeira, Conrad C. (2011-02-23). "Ancient death-grip leaf scars reveal ant–fungal parasitism" . Biology Letters . 7 (1): 67–70. doi :10.1098/rsbl.2010.0521 . PMC 3030878 . PMID 20719770 .
^ Xu, Jin; Huang, Ying; Chen, Xiang-Xiang; Zheng, Shuai-Chao; Chen, Peng; Mo, Ming-He (October 2016). "The Mechanisms of Pharmacological Activities of Ophiocordyceps sinensis Fungi: Pharmacological Mechanisms of O . sinensis " . Phytotherapy Research . 30 (10): 1572–1583. doi :10.1002/ptr.5673 . PMID 27373780 . S2CID 2985175 .
^ a b "Cordyceps" . Drugs.com. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021 .
^ Yue, K; Ye, M; Zhou, Z; Sun, W; Lin, X (April 2013). "The genus Cordyceps : a chemical and pharmacological review" . The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology . 65 (4): 474–93. doi :10.1111/j.2042-7158.2012.01601.x . PMID 23488776 .
^ Araújo JP, Evans HC, Kepler R, Hughes DP (June 2018). "Ophiocordyceps. I. Myrmecophilous hirsutelloid species" . Studies in Mycology . 90 : 119–160. doi :10.1016/j.simyco.2017.12.002 . PMC 6002356 . PMID 29910522 .
^ Kate Golembiewski: Mystery parasites on zombie ant fungus identified by scientists . CNN, Fri November 18, 2022. Source: doi:10.1534/g3.120.401290 PMID 32354705 PMC 7341126 .
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