Specialist and Generalist Fungal Parasites Induce Distinct Biochemical Changes in the Mandible Muscles of Their Host.

ABSTRACT: Some parasites have evolved the ability to adaptively manipulate host behavior. One notable example is the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato, which has evolved the ability to alter the behavior of ants in ways that enable fungal transmission and lifecycle completion. Because host mandibles are affected by the fungi, we focused on understanding changes in the metabolites of muscles during behavioral modification. We used High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass/Mass (HPLC-MS/MS) to detect the metabolite difference between controls and O. unilateralis-infected ants. There was a significant difference between the global metabolome of O. unilateralis-infected ants and healthy ants, while there was no significant difference between the Beauveria bassiana</

SUBMITTER: Zheng S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6769763 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature