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Evidence for convergent evolution of host parasitic manipulation in response to environmental conditions.
Loreto, Raquel G; Araújo, João P M; Kepler, Ryan M; Fleming, Kimberly R; Moreau, Corrie S; Hughes, David P.
Affiliation
  • Loreto RG; Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
  • Araújo JPM; Center for Infectious Diseases Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
  • Kepler RM; Center for Infectious Diseases Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
  • Fleming KR; Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
  • Moreau CS; Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland.
  • Hughes DP; Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Evolution ; 72(10): 2144-2155, 2018 10.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29808578
Environmental conditions exert strong selection on animal behavior. We tested the hypothesis that the altered behavior of hosts due to parasitic manipulation is also subject to selection imposed by changes in environmental conditions over time. Our model system is ants manipulated by parasitic fungi to bite onto vegetation. We analyzed the correlation between forest type (tropical vs. temperate) and the substrate where the host bites (biting substrate: leaf vs. twigs), the time required for the fungi to reach reproductive maturity, and the phylogenetic relationship among specimens from tropical and temperate forests from different parts of the globe. We show that fungal development in temperate forests is longer than the period of time leaves are present and the ants are manipulated to bite twigs. When biting twigs, 90% of the dead ants we examined had their legs wrapped around twigs, which appears to provide better attachment to the plant. Ancestral state character reconstruction suggests that leaf biting is the ancestral trait and that twig biting is a convergent trait in temperate regions of the globe. These three lines of evidence suggest that changes in environmental conditions have shaped the manipulative behavior of the host by its parasite.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Ants / Forests / Biological Evolution / Host-Parasite Interactions / Hypocreales Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: Evolution Year: 2018 Document type: Article Country of publication: United States

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Ants / Forests / Biological Evolution / Host-Parasite Interactions / Hypocreales Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: Evolution Year: 2018 Document type: Article Country of publication: United States