As shown in the image above: The newly discovered mushroom of the parasitic fungus Boroensis grows in the rectum of the toxoptactyn ants in amber.
Scientists have discovered an extinct parasitic fungus that erupted from a 50 million-year-old ant that was kept in amber.
In addition to the spherical mushrooms protruding from the ant's rectum, this strange fungus is also spread throughout the body of its unfortunate host. The ant may have died of a fungal infection and was fortunately fixed in the resin (the resin turned into amber) shortly after. This is the oldest fungal parasite found in ants to date.
Scientists have named the fungus Alllocordyceps baltica, which means "new genus" in Greek, and baltica, which refers to the Baltic region where amber was found.
George Poinar Jr., entomologist at Oregon State University Having helped pioneer the extraction of DNA from amber, he said: "This type of discovery is extremely rare. The chemicals contained in amber resin can repair cells and tissues, as well as destroy microbes that would normally break down specimens. ”
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Poinal said: "Due to the short life cycle of parasitic fungi, it is difficult to find and study. But we all have some fungi on our bodies. In addition, insects are important hosts for these parasites because they are readily available and provide a rich source of nutrients. ”
Like the trapped ants in amber, the humpback ant of the genus Archback ant is a common host for parasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps spp. Poinal said: "I was very excited when I realised that these particular fungi date back so far. ”
"While Boroenia may now be extinct, its lineage may have evolved into the modern Cordyceps serpentine fungus, although this has not been genetically proven," Poinal said.
Pictured above: Side view of a fossil of a humpback ant in amber infected with the fungus Boroenia.
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The main difference between Boroenia and Cordyceps serpentine fungi is that their mushrooms grow from ants. Mushrooms, or ascomycetes, act as the reproductive organs of fungi, release spores into the environment. Cordyceps serpentine fungi grow in the neck and head of host ants around their ascomycetes, and the fungus hijacks the brains of host ants in a form of mind control, forcing ants to bite other humpback ants spawning plants. This allows the fungus to release spores in high concentration areas of potential new hosts.
It's unclear why The ascomycetes grow through the ant's rectum, but Poinal suspects that this may be the reason the fungus keeps its host alive longer, meaning it has more time to spread spores.
"The ant rectum has opened and the fungus has to penetrate the head sac to emerge from the head," Poinal said. It can keep ants alive for a few more days, because once the fungus enters the ant's head, the ant dies. ”
As shown in the image above: Boroenia can be seen growing in the rectum, abdomen and neck of the fossilized Humpback ant.
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Although the reproductive ascomycetes are parasitized by the rectum of ant fossils, there is evidence that fungi are found throughout the ant's entire body. The matrix is a solid plate of the vegetative part of the fungus, also known as hyphae, that can be seen from the abdomen and back of the ant's abdomen and neck. The researchers also found that sacs that produce reproductive spores in the abdomen and neck.
"This will almost certainly have slow and terrible consequences for infected ants," Poinal argues. As the hyphae (the branch filaments of the hyphae) spread throughout the body, it resembles a type of cancer, except that it transforms the tissue into a fungal stage, not a cancer cell. ”