Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • Educational Assets
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Zombie Ant Body Invasion Revealed

By R&D Editors | August 23, 2010

Zombie Ant Body Invasion Revealed 

A modern day ant from Thailand is killed by the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis
A modern day ant from Thailand is killed by the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. It is biting into the leaf vein and the fungal growth can clearly be seen issuing from its head. Courtesy of David P. Hughes

A 48-million-year-old fossilized leaf has revealed the oldest known evidence of a macabre part of nature — parasites taking control of their hosts to turn them into zombies. The discovery has been made by a research team led by David P. Hughes, from the University of Exeter, who studies parasites that can take over the minds of their hosts. All manner of animals are susceptible to the often deadly body invasion, but scientists have been trying to track down when and where such parasites evolved.

Hughes, from the University’s School of Biosciences, said: “There are various techniques, called a molecular clock approach, which we can use to estimate where and when they developed, and fossils are an important source of information to calibrate such clocks.

“This leaf shows clear signs of one well-documented form of zombie-parasite, a fungus which infects ants and then manipulates their behavior.”

The fungus, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, causes ants to leave their colonies and head for a leaf which provides the ideal conditions for the host to reproduce. When it gets there the ant goes into a ‘death grip’ — biting down very hard on the major vein of a leaf. This means that, when the ant dies, its body stays put, so the fungus has time to grow and release its spores to infect other ants.

the 48-million-year-old fossil leaf from Messel which bears the tell-tale death grip scars
This is the 48-million-year-old fossil leaf from Messel which bears the tell-tale death grip scars. Courtesy of Torsten Wappler

The death grip bite leaves a very distinct scar on the leaves. This prompted Hughes, together with research partners Conrad Labandeira from the Smithsonian Institution and Torsten Wappler, from the Steinmann Institute, to search for potential evidence of the fungus at work by studying the fossilized remains of leaves. After studying leaf fossils from the Messel Pit, a site on the eastern side of the Rhine Rift Valley in Hesse, Germany, they found clear evidence of the death grip bite in a 48-million-year-old leaf specimen.

Hughes said: “The evidence we found mirrors very closely the type of leaf scars that we find today, showing that the parasite has been working in the same way for a very long time. This is, as far as we know, the oldest evidence of parasites manipulating the behavior of their hosts, and it shows this parasitic association with ants is relatively ancient and not a recent development.

“Hopefully, we can now find more fossilized evidence of parasitic manipulation. This will help us shed further light on the origins of this association so we can get a better idea of how it has evolved and spread.”

The paper, titled “Ancient death-grip leaf scars reveal ant-fungal parasitism,” is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Related Articles Read More >

Microsoft’s 4D geometric codes slash quantum errors by 1,000x
Berkeley Lab’s Dell and NVIDIA-powered ‘Doudna’ supercomputer to enable real-time data access for 11,000 researchers
QED-C outlines road map for merging quantum and AI
Quantum computing hardware advance slashes superinductor capacitance >60%, cutting substrate loss
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • Educational Assets
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE