Spinochordodes tellinii 2609339 221266316 2008-06-23T19:49:24Z DOI bot 6652755 Citation maintenance. You can [[WP:DOI|use this bot]] yourself! Please [[User:DOI_bot/bugs|report any bugs]]. {{Taxobox | name = ''Spinochordodes tellinii'' | image = Spinochordodes in Meconema.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = ''Spinochordodes tellinii'' with its bush-cricket host (''[[Meconema thalassinum]]'') | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Nematomorpha]] | classis = [[Gordioidea]] | familia = [[Chordodidae]] | genus = ''[[Spinochordodes]]'' | species = '''''S. tellinii''''' | binomial = ''Spinochordodes tellinii'' | binomial_authority = ([[Lorenzo Camerano|Camerano]], 1888)&nbsp;<ref>{{ITIS|ID=700110|taxon=''Spinochordodes tellinii''}}</ref> }} The [[Nematomorpha|nematomorph hairworm]] '''''Spinochordodes tellinii''''' is a [[parasitism|parasitic]] worm whose [[larva]]e develop in [[Orthoptera]]n [[insect]]s (grasshoppers and crickets). This parasite is able to influence its host's behavior: once the parasite is grown, it causes its grasshopper host to seek out and jump into water, where the grasshopper will likely drown. The parasite then leaves its host; the adult worm lives and reproduces in water.<ref>[http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7927 Parasites brainwash grasshoppers into death dive], ''New Scientist News'', 31 August 2005</ref> The microscopic larvae are ingested by their insect hosts and develop inside them into worms that can be three to four times longer than the host. The precise molecular mechanism underlying the modification of the host's behaviour is not yet known. A study in 2005 indicated that grasshoppers which contain the parasite [[gene expression|express]], or create, different [[protein]]s in their brains than do uninfected grasshoppers. Some of these proteins have been linked to [[neurotransmitter]] activity, others to [[geotaxis|geotactic]] activity, or the body's response to changes in gravity. Further, it appeared that the parasite produces proteins from the [[Wnt signaling pathway|Wnt family]] that act directly on the development of the central nervous system and are similar to proteins known from other insects, suggesting an instance of [[molecular mimicry]].<ref>{{cite journal |quotes=no |journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Society]] B: Biological Sciences | volume = 272 |issue = 1577 |year=2005 |pages = 2117–2126 | url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1559948|doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3213 |title = Behavioural manipulation in a grasshopper harbouring hairworm: a proteomics approach |author=Biron, D. G., L. Marché, F. Ponton, H. D. Loxdale, N. Galéotti, L. Renault, C. Joly & F. Thomas |pmid = 16191624}}</ref> A similar parasitic worm is ''[[Paragordius tricuspidatus]]''.<ref>Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa, David G. Biron, Cécile Joly and Frédéric Thomas. "Host–parasite relations and seasonal occurrence of Paragordius tricuspidatus and Spinochordodes tellinii (Nematomorpha) in Southern France", ''Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology'', Volume 244, Issue 1, 15 August 2005, Pages 51-57</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7226661303929118618 Video of ''Spinochordodes tellinii''], in which it causes a cricket to drown and then emerges from it [[Category:Animals]] [[Category:Parasites]] [[Category:Suicide-inducing parasitism]] [[ca:Spinochordodes tellinii]] [[ko:Spinochordodes tellinii]]