It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to blades of grass against their will. The lancet liver fluke has an exceptional lifecycle strategy, in which snails, ants and grazing animals are unwitting actors. Researchers now reveal more about the mind-bending workings of this tiny parasite.
It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to the tops of blades of grass where they can be eaten by cattle and deer. The common liver fluke has an exceptional life cycle as it moves through snails, ants and grass-grazing herbivores. And now, researchers from the University of Copenhagen know a bit more about the workings of this tiny parasite. The new knowledge adds to our understanding of parasites, which could be the most widespread life form on Earth.
"Getting the ants high up in the grass for when cattle or deer graze during the cool morning and evening hours, and then down again to avoid the sun's deadly rays, is quite smart. Our discovery reveals a parasite that is more sophisticated than we originally believed it to be," explains Associate Professor Brian Lund Fredensborg, who conducted the study together with former graduate student Simone Nordstrand Gasque, now a PhD student at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
"Here, there can be hundreds of liver flukes waiting for the ant to get them into their next host. They are wrapped in a capsule which protects them from the consequent host's stomach acid, while the liver fluke that took control of the ant, dies. You could say that it sacrifices itself for the others," explains Brian Lund Fredensborg.
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