Ophiocordyceps
Genus of fungi / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Ophiocordyceps | |
---|---|
Dead ants infected with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Sordariomycetes |
Order: | Hypocreales |
Family: | Ophiocordycipitaceae |
Genus: | Ophiocordyceps Petch (1931) |
Type species | |
Ophiocordyceps blattae (Petch) Petch (1931) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Cordycepioideus Stifler (1941) |
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]