“…Recent research into the mechanisms of parasitic manipulation by Ophiocordyceps have reported a number of fungal molecules and ant pathways that may be involved, including neuro-modulators and - protectants, insect hormones, feeding, locomotion, circadian rhythms and light-sensing, and muscular hyperactivity (de Bekker, Merrow, et al, 2014; de Bekker et al, 2015; de Bekker, 2019; de Bekker & Das, 2022; Kobmoo et al, 2018; Loreto & Hughes, 2019; Mangold et al, 2019; Trinh et al, 2021; Will et al, 2020; Zheng et al, 2019). Among these candidates, fungal proteins such as bacterial-like enterotoxins, protein tyrosine phosphatases, peptidases (e.g., S8 subtilisin-like serine proteases), and various undescribed small secreted proteins (uSSPs) may mediate important host-parasite PPIs.…”