Can you imagine a parasite in an ant's brain? If not, don't worry – there are photos.
Recently, scientists captured for the first time images of these "mind-controlling" parasites moving in the head of an unfortunate ant, revealing a never-before-seen secret clue to the manipulation of host behavior by a deadly, brain-dwelling flatworm, the Lancet liver fluke (a spear-shaped bilomen fluke).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the target host for Lancet liver flukes is various types of ants. Although they only practice mind-controlling techniques in ant hosts, they travel between different species to complete their life cycle.
As eggs, they inhabit the feces of herbivores, such as deer or cattle. After the infected feces are eaten by the snail, the larvae hatch and develop in the snail's internal organs. The larvae are then excreted from the snail's mucus balls and eventually eaten by the ants.
Inside the ants is where these bugs transform. Ants usually ingest a variety of parasites, most of which lurk in their abdomen. However, scientists point out in a new study that there is a parasite that enters an ant's brain and becomes the commander of the ant's brain, forcing the ant to perform "absurd behavior."
Under the control of parasites, zombified ants "die" at dusk, climbing on blades of grass, petals, or other plants, while normal ants usually return to their nests at that time. Night after night, zombified ants cling to a plant with their mouths, waiting to be eaten by herbivorous mammals. Once eaten, the parasite multiplies and lays eggs in mammals. According to the CDC, the eggs are recirculated as the feces are excreted.
Biologists have been fascinated by the relationship between flatworms and ants for years, but the details of how flatworms manipulate ant behavior remain a mystery, "in part because so far we haven't been able to see the physical relationship between flatworms and ant brains," martin hall, a collaborator in the study and a researcher in the life sciences department at the Natural History Museum in London, said in a statement.
That all changed when a team of scientists examined the inside of the head and body of infected ants using a technique known as microcomputer tomography. This approach combines microscopy and X-ray imaging techniques to visualize the internal structure and astonishing details of tiny objects in 3D.
The researchers removed the head of the infected ant, removed the mandible so that the inside of the head could be clearly seen, and then stained and scanned the ant's head, abdomen, and entire body. Scans showed that as many as 3 parasites may be vying for control of an ant's brain, although only one will eventually come into contact with the ant's brain. The parasite's oral suction cups help them get into the ants' brain tissue, and they appear to target areas of the brain associated with movement and mandibular control.
Hijacking this area of the ant's brain, the researchers said, is likely to allow the parasite to direct the ant to make a death move, locking its mouth on grass or flowers while the ant waits to be eaten.
The results of the study were published in scientific reports on June 5.
Editor: Shao Ying Reviewer: Peter Wang Editor:Nan Xi
Source: https://www.livescience.com/62763-zombie-ant-brain-parasite.html
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