Study
Species-specific ant brain manipulation by a specialized fungal parasite
de Bekker, Charissa; Quevillon, Lauren E.; Smith, Philip B.; Fleming, Kimberly R.; Ghosh, Debashis; Patterson, Andrew D.; Hughes, David P.
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2014
Cultured the fungus with brains of its natural host species and of ant species it does not infect, and analysed the compounds the fungus secreted in each case.
- Studied in
- Ophiocordyceps, Camponotus
- Sample size
- fungal cultures exposed to brains of target and non-target ant species
The fungus produced different sets of compounds depending on whose brain it was exposed to, secreting a distinct profile in the presence of its natural host’s brain compared with a non-host species.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
The parasite responds specifically to its host’s nervous tissue, consistent with a chemical mechanism of manipulation tuned to a particular species.
How NatureHQ reads it
The record that supports a chemical account of the manipulation while stopping well short of a mechanism. The fungus makes different molecules when it meets the right brain — which is a long way from knowing which molecule does what, and NatureHQ says so.
- Culture conditions rather than an infected living ant, so the compounds are what the fungus makes in the presence of brain tissue, not necessarily what it deploys in an infection.
- Identifies differential secretion without establishing that any of the compounds causes the behaviour.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Springer journalsPublished in a Springer journal.
doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0166-3
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.