![]() gondii’s effect on gray wolves.Ī mind-controlling parasite might be affecting the behavior of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. And now, a recent study in the journal Communications Biology has shown the first evidence of T. Some behavioral changes - including taking risks in business, road rage and even schizophrenia - may be associated with T. gondii is optimized for cats and their prey, but other animals can get caught in the biochemical crossfire, with similar behavior-altering results. ![]() When it comes to evolutionary survival, T. These daredevil mice make an easy meal for a cat, and in eating them, the newly infected feline unwittingly sets the process in motion once again. gondii seem to lose their inherent fear of cats and no longer avoid the scent of cat urine, studies have shown. The mechanism isn’t yet clear to researchers, but the phenomenon is most well known in rodents: Mice infected with T. The parasites enter the intermediate host’s brain and muscle tissue and change its behavior in a way that boosts its chances of getting eaten by a cat. gondii needs to reproduce, so the parasite has to find its way back to a member of the cat family. But other animals’ guts don’t have the linoleic acid content that T. When other mammals or birds eat or drink something contaminated by those hardy oocysts, they become infected as well. The parasites reproduce in a cat’s intestines, and then the cat sheds the parasite’s oocysts (single cells that are sort of like eggs) in its feces. Its life cycle is closely entwined with cats - due to unique enzyme activity, cat guts contain an excess of an acid that T. ![]() If you’ve ever owned a cat, chances are you’ve heard of toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by T. The startling revelations could change scientists’ understanding of wolf-pack dynamics and improve conservation efforts for an apex predator that plays a major role in the health of its mountain ecosystem. Researchers found that gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park infected with a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii were more likely to leave the group of wolves they were born into or become a pack leader. Mystery parasites on zombie ant fungus identified by scientists
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