[Animals] A parasite affects the brains of wolves in Yellowstone Park, changing their pack behavior

[FNX Magokiler]

(CNN) -- Wolves are animals that live in packs of family groups led by a matriarch and her mate. Some wolves stay with their pack for life, helping to hunt and raise the pups as aunts and uncles as they mature, but others separate to find mates and create packs of their own.

There are many factors that influence this type of behavior, such as personality quirks and family relationships established when they are puppies. But new scientific findings reveal a surprising influence on wolf pack dynamics: a mind-controlling parasite that causes gray wolves to engage in more risky behavior.

The researchers found that gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park infected with a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii were more likely to leave the wolf pack they were born into or become pack leaders.

The startling revelations could change scientists' understanding of wolf pack dynamics and improve conservation efforts for an alpha predator that plays an important role in the health of its mountain ecosystem.

biochemical crossfire
If you've ever owned a cat, you've probably heard of toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by T. gondii, a single-celled parasite. Their life cycle is closely linked to cats: due to unique enzymatic activity, cat intestines contain an excess of an acid that T. gondii needs to reproduce. The parasites reproduce in cats' intestines, and cats then shed parasite oocytes (individual cells that are sorts of eggs) in their feces.

 

 

When other mammals or birds eat or drink something contaminated by these resistant oocytes, they also become infected. But the intestines of other animals don't have the linoleic acid content that T. gondii needs to reproduce, so the parasite has to find its way back to a member of the cat family.

The parasites burrow into the intermediate host's brain and muscle tissue and change their behavior in ways that increase their chances of being eaten by a cat. The mechanism is still unclear to researchers, but the phenomenon is best known in rodents: Mice infected with T. gondii seem to lose their inherent fear of cats and no longer avoid the smell of cat urine, researchers have shown. studies. These cheeky mice are easy prey for a cat, and by eating them, the newly infected feline inadvertently starts the process all over again.

As far as evolutionary survival is concerned, T. gondii is optimized for cats and their prey, but other animals can get caught in the biochemical crossfire, with similar behaviorally altered results. Even humans can be affected. Some behavior changes, such as taking risks in business, road rage, and even schizophrenia, may be associated with a T. gondii infection. And now, a recent study in the academic journal Communications Biology has shown the first evidence of T. gondii's effect on gray wolves.

 

https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2022/11/30/control-mental-parasitos-dinamica-manadas-lobos-trax/