Going gentle into that pathogen-induced goodnight.
A diverse set of pathogens have evolved extended phenotypes that manipulate the moribund behavior of their various insect hosts. By elevating host positioning at death, a phenomenon called "summit disease", these pathogens have been shown to have higher fitness. Though a few summit disease systems have been intensively characterized, in particular the Ophiocordyceps-ant system, summit diseases lack an overarching theory for the underlying mechanisms of this complex behavioral manipulation. In this article, we combine the gamut of summiting systems into a cohesive framework: we propose two types of summit disease (juvenile and adult), which both exploit natural insect behaviors during periods of quiescence. We place this framework in the context of available literature and propose investigations that follow from this comprehensive understanding of summit disease in insects.
['Lovett|Brian|B|', 'St Leger|Raymond J|RJ|', 'de Fine Licht|Henrik H|HH|']
D000367:Age Factors D000818:Animals D001522:Behavior, Animal D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions D006999:Hypocreales D007313:Insecta D007814:Larva D012890:Sleep
Extended phenotype Summit disease Quiescence Molting Ophiocordyceps Sleep Zombie ants