1
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Han Y, Hellgren O, Wu Q, Liu J, Jin T, Bensch S, Ding P. Seasonal variations of intensity of avian malaria infection in the Thousand Island Lake System, China. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:218. [PMID: 37403099 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05848-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Migratory birds play an important part in the spread of parasites, with more or less impact on resident birds. Previous studies focus on the prevalence of parasites, but changes in infection intensity over time have rarely been studied. As infection intensity can be quantified by qPCR, we measured infection intensity during different seasons, which is important for our understanding of parasite transmission mechanisms. METHODS Wild birds were captured at the Thousand Island Lake with mist nets and tested for avian hemosporidiosis infections using nested PCR. Parasites were identified using the MalAvi database. Then, we used qPCR to quantify the infection intensity. We analyzed the monthly trends of intensity for all species and for different migratory status, parasite genera and sexes. RESULTS Of 1101 individuals, 407 were infected (37.0%) of which 95 were newly identified and mainly from the genus Leucocytozoon. The total intensity trend shows peaks at the start of summer, during the breeding season of hosts and during the over-winter season. Different parasite genera show different monthly trends. Plasmodium causes high prevalence and infection intensity of winter visitors. Female hosts show significant seasonal trends of infection intensity. CONCLUSIONS The seasonal changes of infection intensity is consistent with the prevalence. Peaks occur early and during the breeding season and then there is a downward trend. Spring relapses and avian immunity are possible reasons that could explain this phenomenon. In our study, winter visitors have a higher prevalence and infection intensity, but they rarely share parasites with resident birds. This shows that they were infected with Plasmodium during their departure or migration and rarely transmit the disease to resident birds. The different infection patterns of different parasite species may be due to vectors or other ecological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxiao Han
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Olof Hellgren
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Qiang Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Juan Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Tinghao Jin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Staffan Bensch
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ping Ding
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China.
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2
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Rodríguez‐Hernández K, Álvarez‐Mendizábal P, Chapa‐Vargas L, Escobar F, Dáttilo W, Santiago‐Alarcon D. Infection intensity shapes specialization and beta diversity of haemosporidian–bird networks across elevations. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
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3
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Aguiar de Souza Penha V, Maia Chaves Bicalho Domingos F, Fecchio A, Bell JA, Weckstein JD, Ricklefs RE, Braga EM, de Abreu Moreira P, Soares L, Latta S, Tolesano-Pascoli G, Alquezar RD, Del-Claro K, Manica LT. Host life-history traits predict haemosporidian parasite prevalence in tanagers (Aves: Thraupidae). Parasitology 2022; 150:1-10. [PMID: 36226920 PMCID: PMC10090595 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182022001469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Vector-borne parasites are important ecological drivers influencing life-history evolution in birds by increasing host mortality or susceptibility to new diseases. Therefore, understanding why vulnerability to infection varies within a host clade is a crucial task for conservation biology and for understanding macroecological life-history patterns. Here, we studied the relationship of avian life-history traits and climate on the prevalence of Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus parasites. We sampled 3569 individual birds belonging to 53 species of the family Thraupidae. Individuals were captured from 2007 to 2018 at 92 locations. We created 2 phylogenetic generalized least-squares models with Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus prevalence as our response variables, and with the following predictor variables: climate PC1, climate PC2, body size, mixed-species flock participation, incubation period, migration, nest height, foraging height, forest cover, and diet. We found that Parahaemoproteus and Plasmodium prevalence was higher in species inhabiting open habitats. Tanager species with longer incubation periods had higher Parahaemoproteus prevalence as well, and we hypothesize that these longer incubation periods overlap with maximum vector abundances, resulting in a higher probability of infection among adult hosts during their incubation period and among chicks. Lastly, we found that Plasmodium prevalence was higher in species without migratory behaviour, with mixed-species flock participation, and with an omnivorous or animal-derived diet. We discuss the consequences of higher infection prevalence in relation to life-history traits in tanagers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alan Fecchio
- Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica (CIEMEP), CONICET – Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Jeffrey A. Bell
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA
| | - Jason D. Weckstein
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert E. Ricklefs
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri–Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Erika Martins Braga
- Malaria Laboratory, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Letícia Soares
- Research Associate, National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steven Latta
- Conservation and Field Research, National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Graziela Tolesano-Pascoli
- Zoology Department, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil
| | - Renata Duarte Alquezar
- Animal Behavior Laboratory, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil
| | - Kleber Del-Claro
- Behavioral Ecology and Interactions Laboratory, Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation of Natural Resources, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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4
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Schmid-Hempel P. Sociality and parasite transmission. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021; 75:156. [PMID: 34720348 PMCID: PMC8540878 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03092-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Parasites and their social hosts form many different relationships. But what kind of selection regimes are important? A look at the parameters that determine fitness of the two parties suggests that social hosts differ from solitary ones primarily in the structure of transmission pathways. Because transmission is, both, the physical encounter of a new host and infecting it, several different elements determine parasite transmission success. These include spatial distance, genetic distance, or the temporal and ecological niche overlaps. Combing these elements into a ‘generalized transmission distance’ that determines parasite fitness aids in the identification of the critical steps. For example, short-distance transmission to genetically similar hosts within the social group is the most frequent process under sociality. Therefore, spatio-genetical distances are the main driver of parasite fitness. Vice versa, the generalized distance identifies the critical host defences. In this case, host defences should be primarily selected to defend against the within-group spread of an infection, especially among closely related group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Schmid-Hempel
- Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH Zürich, ETH-Zentrum CHN, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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5
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Seasonal Dynamics and Diversity of Haemosporidians in a Natural Woodland Bird Community in Slovakia. DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13090439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite the ubiquity of disease seasonality, mechanisms behind the fluctuations in seasonal diseases are still poorly understood. Avian hemosporidiosis is increasingly used as a model for ecological and evolutionary studies on disease dynamics, but the results are complex, depending on the focus (hosts, parasites, vectors) and scale (individuals, community, populations) of the study. Here, we examine the local diversity of haemosporidian parasites and the seasonal patterns of infections, parasite richness, and diversity in a natural woodland bird community in Slovakia. In 35 avian species, we detected 111, including 19 novel, haemosporidian cytochrome b lineages. The highest numbers of lineages were detected during spring and autumn, corresponding with higher avian species richness and infection prevalence in the avian community during these periods of time. Nevertheless, the haemosporidian community in the local breeders in summer was relatively stable, Haemoproteus lineages dominated in the local avian haemosporidian community, and only few parasite lineages were abundant within each genus. While prevailing Leucocytozoon infections in spring suggest that the majority of sampled birds wintered in the Mediterranean region, Plasmodium infections in spring can be due to relapses in reproductively active short-distance migrants. Multiple haemosporidian infections, both intra- and inter-generic ones, were common in the local avian community. Infection intensity peaked during summer and tended to be higher in older birds, pointing to the role of supressed immunity in reproductively active birds.
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6
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Wilcox JJS, Lopez-Cotto JJ, Hollocher H. Historical contingency, geography and anthropogenic patterns of exposure drive the evolution of host switching in the Blastocystis species-complex. Parasitology 2021; 148:985-993. [PMID: 33775262 PMCID: PMC11010051 DOI: 10.1017/s003118202100055x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Parasites have the power to impose significant regulatory pressures on host populations, making evolutionary patterns of host switching by parasites salient to a range of contemporary ecological issues. However, relatively little is known about the colonization of new hosts by parasitic, commensal and mutualistic eukaryotes of metazoans. As ubiquitous symbionts of coelomate animals, Blastocystis spp. represent excellent candidate organisms for the study of evolutionary patterns of host switching by protists. Here, we apply a big-data phylogenetic approach using archival sequence data to assess the relative roles of several host-associated traits in shaping the evolutionary history of the Blastocystis species-complex within an ecological framework. Patterns of host usage were principally determined by geographic location and shared environments of hosts, suggesting that weight of exposure (i.e. propagule pressure) represents the primary force for colonization of new hosts within the Blastocystis species-complex. While Blastocystis lineages showed a propensity to recolonize the same host taxa, these taxa were often evolutionarily unrelated, suggesting that historical contingency and retention of previous adaptions by the parasite were more important to host switching than host phylogeny. Ultimately, our findings highlight the ability of ecological theory (i.e. ‘ecological fitting’) to explain host switching and host specificity within the Blastocystis species-complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin J. S. Wilcox
- Department of Biological Sciences, Galvin Life Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - John J. Lopez-Cotto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Galvin Life Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Hope Hollocher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Galvin Life Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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7
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Garcia-Longoria L, Muriel J, Magallanes S, Villa-Galarce ZH, Ricopa L, Inga-Díaz WG, Fong E, Vecco D, Guerra-SaldaÑa C, Salas-Rengifo T, Flores-Saavedra W, Espinoza K, Mendoza C, SaldaÑa B, González-Blázquez M, Gonzales-Pinedo H, Luján-Vega C, Del Águila CA, Vilca-Herrera Y, Pineda CA, Reategui C, Cárdenas-Callirgos JM, Iannacone JA, Mendoza JL, Sehgal RNM, Marzal A. Diversity and host assemblage of avian haemosporidians in different terrestrial ecoregions of Peru. Curr Zool 2021; 68:27-40. [PMID: 35169627 PMCID: PMC8836326 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the diversity and structure of host–parasite communities is crucial to understanding their eco-evolutionary dynamics. Malaria and related haemosporidian parasites are responsible for fitness loss and mortality in bird species worldwide. However, despite exhibiting the greatest ornithological biodiversity, avian haemosporidians from Neotropical regions are quite unexplored. Here, we analyze the genetic diversity of bird haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in 1,336 individuals belonging to 206 bird species to explore for differences in diversity of parasite lineages and bird species across 5 well-differentiated Peruvian ecoregions. We detected 70 different haemosporidian lineages infecting 74 bird species. We showed that 25 out of the 70 haplotypes had not been previously recorded. Moreover, we also identified 81 new host–parasite interactions representing new host records for these haemosporidian parasites. Our outcomes revealed that the effective diversity (as well as the richness, abundance, and Shannon–Weaver index) for both birds and parasite lineages was higher in Amazon basin ecoregions. Furthermore, we also showed that ecoregions with greater diversity of bird species also had high parasite richness, hence suggesting that host community is crucial in explaining parasite richness. Generalist parasites were found in ecoregions with lower bird diversity, implying that the abundance and richness of hosts may shape the exploitation strategy followed by haemosporidian parasites. These outcomes reveal that Neotropical region is a major reservoir of unidentified haemosporidian lineages. Further studies analyzing host distribution and specificity of these parasites in the tropics will provide important knowledge about phylogenetic relationships, phylogeography, and patterns of evolution and distribution of haemosporidian parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz Garcia-Longoria
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz E-506071, Spain
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Jaime Muriel
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología—IPE (CSIC), Avda. Nuestra Señora de la Victoria 16, Jaca 22700, Spain
| | - Sergio Magallanes
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz E-506071, Spain
| | - Zaira Hellen Villa-Galarce
- DIRESA, Dirección Regional de Salud, Loreto 16001, Peru
- Departamento Académico de Microbiología y Parasitología. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos 16001, Peru
| | - Leonila Ricopa
- Departamento Académico de Microbiología y Parasitología. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos 16001, Peru
| | | | - Esteban Fong
- EverGreen Institute—San Rafael, Distrito de Indiana, Loreto 16200, Peru
- Observatorio de Aves Loreto (LBO), Distrito de San Juan, Loreto 16008, Peru
| | - Daniel Vecco
- Centro Urku de Estudios Amazónicos, Tarapoto 22200, Peru
| | | | | | - Wendy Flores-Saavedra
- Sanidad Animal—Facultad de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima 15012, Peru
| | - Kathya Espinoza
- Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cient쥩ca del Sur, Lima 15067, Peru
| | - Carlos Mendoza
- Laboratorio de Análisis Clínico Moraleslab SAC, Morales, San Martín 22201, Peru
| | - Blanca SaldaÑa
- Laboratorio de Análisis Clínico Moraleslab SAC, Morales, San Martín 22201, Peru
| | - Manuel González-Blázquez
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz E-506071, Spain
| | | | - Charlene Luján-Vega
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, DA 95616, USA
| | | | - Yessica Vilca-Herrera
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15081, Perú
| | - Carlos Alberto Pineda
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional Hermilio Valdizan, Huánuco, 10160, Peru
| | - Carmen Reategui
- Departamento Académico de Microbiología y Parasitología. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos 16001, Peru
| | | | - José Alberto Iannacone
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Biodiversidad Animal, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, El Agustino, Lima 15007, Peru
- Laboratorio de Invertebrados, Universidad Ricardo Palma—Santiago de Surco, Lima 15537, Peru
| | - Jorge Luis Mendoza
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Biodiversidad Animal, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, El Agustino, Lima 15007, Peru
| | - Ravinder N M Sehgal
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
| | - Alfonso Marzal
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz E-506071, Spain
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8
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Ellis VA, Huang X, Westerdahl H, Jönsson J, Hasselquist D, Neto JM, Nilsson J, Nilsson J, Hegemann A, Hellgren O, Bensch S. Explaining prevalence, diversity and host specificity in a community of avian haemosporidian parasites. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo A. Ellis
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
- Dept of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, Univ. of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA
| | - Xi Huang
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal Univ. Beijing PR China
| | | | - Jane Jönsson
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | | | - Júlio M. Neto
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Jan‐Åke Nilsson
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Johan Nilsson
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Arne Hegemann
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Olof Hellgren
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Staffan Bensch
- Dept of Biology, Lund Univ., Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
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9
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Garcia-Longoria L, Palinauskas V, Ilgūnas M, Valkiūnas G, Hellgren O. Differential gene expression of Plasmodium homocircumflexum (lineage pCOLL4) across two experimentally infected passerine bird species. Genomics 2020; 112:2857-2865. [PMID: 32234432 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2020.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites are present in a wide range of host species, some of which tend to be more susceptible than others, potentially as an outcome of evolved tolerance or resistance. Common starlings seem to cope with malaria infection while common crossbills are more susceptible to the same infections. That raises the question if the parasites rely on the same molecular mechanisms regardless of host species or do Plasmodium parasites change gene-expressions in accordance to the environment different hosts might provide? We used RNA-sequencing from starlings and crossbills, experimentally infected with Plasmodium homocircumflexum (lineage pCOLL4). The assembled transcriptome contained a total of 26,733 contigs. Parasite expression patterns differed between bird species. Parasites had higher expression of cell-invasion genes when infecting crossbills compared to starlings whereas in starlings genes related to apoptosis or/and oxidative stress showed higher expression levels. This article reveals how a Plasmodium parasite might adjust its expression and gene function depending on the host species infected.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Garcia-Longoria
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, E-506071 Badajoz, Spain.
| | | | - M Ilgūnas
- Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | | | - O Hellgren
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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10
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Abstract
Factors such as the particular combination of parasite-mosquito species, their co-evolutionary history and the host's parasite load greatly affect parasite transmission. However, the importance of these factors in the epidemiology of mosquito-borne parasites, such as avian malaria parasites, is largely unknown. Here, we assessed the competence of two mosquito species [Culex pipiens and Aedes (Ochlerotatus) caspius], for the transmission of four avian Plasmodium lineages (Plasmodium relictum SGS1 and GRW11 and Plasmodium cathemerium-related lineages COLL1 and PADOM01) naturally infecting wild house sparrows. We assessed the effects of parasite identity and parasite load on Plasmodium transmission risk through its effects on the transmission rate and mosquito survival. We found that Cx. pipiens was able to transmit the four Plasmodium lineages, while Ae. caspius was unable to transmit any of them. However, Cx. pipiens mosquitoes fed on birds infected by P. relictum showed a lower survival and transmission rate than those fed on birds infected by parasites related to P. cathemerium. Non-significant associations were found with the host-parasite load. Our results confirm the existence of inter- and intra-specific differences in the ability of Plasmodium lineages to develop in mosquito species and their effects on the survival of mosquitoes that result in important differences in the transmission risk of the different avian malaria parasite lineages studied.
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11
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Garcia-Longoria L, Marzal A, de Lope F, Garamszegi L. Host-parasite interaction explains variation in the prevalence of avian haemosporidians at the community level. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0205624. [PMID: 30840636 PMCID: PMC6402683 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites are a selective force that shape host community structure and dynamics, but host communities can also influence parasitism. Understanding the dual nature from host-parasite interactions can be facilitated by quantifying the variation in parasite prevalence among host species and then comparing that variation to other ecological factors that are known to also shape host communities. Avian haemosporidian parasites (e.g. Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) are abundant and widespread representing an excellent model for the study of host-parasite interactions. Several geographic and environmental factors have been suggested to determine prevalence of avian haemosporidians in bird communities. However, it remains unknown whether host and parasite traits, represented by phylogenetic distances among species and degree of specialization in host-parasite relationships, can influence infection status. The aims of this study were to analyze factors affecting infection status in a bird community and to test whether the degree of parasite specialization on their hosts is determined by host traits. Our statistical analyses suggest that infection status is mainly determined by the interaction between host species and parasite lineages where tolerance and/or susceptibility to parasites plays an essential role. Additionally, we found that although some of the parasite lineages infected a low number of bird individuals, the species they infected were distantly related and therefore the parasites themselves should not be considered typical host specialists. Infection status was higher for generalist than for specialist parasites in some, but not all, host species. These results suggest that detected prevalence in a species mainly results from the interaction between host immune defences and parasite exploitation strategies wherein the result of an association between particular parasite lineages and particular host species is idiosyncratic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz Garcia-Longoria
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz (Spain)
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Alfonso Marzal
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz (Spain)
| | - Florentino de Lope
- Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz (Spain)
| | - Laszlo Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, Spain
- MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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12
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Videvall E. Genomic Advances in Avian Malaria Research. Trends Parasitol 2019; 35:254-266. [PMID: 30642725 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 12/24/2018] [Accepted: 12/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Haemosporidian parasites causing malaria-like diseases in birds are globally distributed and have been associated with reduced host fitness and mortality in susceptible bird species. This group of parasites has not only enabled a greater understanding of host specificity, virulence, and parasite dispersal, but has also been crucial in restructuring the evolutionary history of apicomplexans. Despite their importance, genomic resources of avian haemosporidians have proved difficult to obtain, and they have, as a result, been lagging behind the congeneric Plasmodium species infecting mammals. In this review, I discuss recent genomic advances in the field of avian malaria research, and outline outstanding questions that will become possible to investigate with the continued successful efforts to generate avian haemosporidian genomic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elin Videvall
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
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13
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Ellis VA, Bensch S. Host specificity of avian haemosporidian parasites is unrelated among sister lineages but shows phylogenetic signal across larger clades. Int J Parasitol 2018; 48:897-902. [PMID: 30076910 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Parasites can vary in the number of host species they infect, a trait known as "host specificity". Here we quantify phylogenetic signal-the tendency for closely related species to resemble each other more than distantly related species-in host specificity of avian haemosporidian parasites (genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) using data from MalAvi, the global avian haemosporidian database. We used the genetic data (479 base pairs of cytochrome b) that define parasite lineages to produce genus level phylogenies. Combining host specificity data with those phylogenies revealed significant levels of phylogenetic signal while controlling for sampling effects; phylogenetic signal was higher when the phylogenetic diversity of hosts was taken into account. We then tested for correlations in the host specificity of pairs of sister lineages. Correlations were generally close to zero for all three parasite genera. These results suggest that while the host specificity of parasite sister lineages differ, larger clades may be relatively specialised or generalised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo A Ellis
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Staffan Bensch
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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14
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Evolutionary Ecology of Avian Malaria: Past to Present. Trends Parasitol 2018; 34:712-726. [PMID: 29937414 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Avian malaria is the oldest experimental system for investigating the biology and transmission of Plasmodium parasites. Recent molecular protocols for detecting and characterizing avian malaria lineages in the field are providing an ever-growing picture of the prevalence, distribution, host range, and diversity hotspots of avian malaria across the world. The unparalleled genetic diversity uncovered rivals anything that has been found in other vertebrate malarias and seems to be matched by an equally rich phenotypic diversity, providing endless opportunities for exploring the selective pressures under which hosts and parasites evolve. We review the most important milestones in avian Plasmodium research and explain why this is a unique animal model to understand the ecology and evolution of malaria.
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15
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Lentendu G, Mahé F, Bass D, Rueckert S, Stoeck T, Dunthorn M. Consistent patterns of high alpha and low beta diversity in tropical parasitic and free-living protists. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:2846-2857. [PMID: 29851187 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Tropical animals and plants are known to have high alpha diversity within forests, but low beta diversity between forests. By contrast, it is unknown whether microbes inhabiting the same ecosystems exhibit similar biogeographic patterns. To evaluate the biogeographies of tropical protists, we used metabarcoding data of species sampled in the soils of three lowland Neotropical rainforests. Taxa-area and distance-decay relationships for three of the dominant protist taxa and their subtaxa were estimated at both the OTU and phylogenetic levels, with presence-absence and abundance-based measures. These estimates were compared to null models. High local alpha and low regional beta diversity patterns were consistently found for both the parasitic Apicomplexa and the largely free-living Cercozoa and Ciliophora. Similar to animals and plants, the protists showed spatial structures between forests at the OTU and phylogenetic levels, and only at the phylogenetic level within forests. These results suggest that the biogeographies of macro- and micro-organismal eukaryotes in lowland Neotropical rainforests are partially structured by the same general processes. However, and unlike the animals and plants, the protist OTUs did not exhibit spatial structures within forests, which hinders our ability to estimate the local and regional diversity of protists in tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Lentendu
- Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Frédéric Mahé
- Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany.,CIRAD, UMR LSTM, Montpellier, France
| | - David Bass
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK.,Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Weymouth, Dorset, UK
| | - Sonja Rueckert
- School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Thorsten Stoeck
- Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Micah Dunthorn
- Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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16
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Environmental determinants of haemosporidian parasite prevalence in a declining population of Tree swallows. Parasitology 2017; 145:961-970. [PMID: 29166965 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182017002128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of vector-borne parasites such as haemosporidian species is influenced by several environmental factors. While the negative effects of parasitism on hosts are well documented, these can also be amplified by interactions with environmental stressors, many of which are anthropogenic. Yet, we know little about the possible effects of anthropogenic perturbations on parasite prevalence. The goals of this study were to assess the prevalence and environmental determinants of haemosporidian parasites in a declining population of Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) living in an agricultural landscape in southern Québec, Canada. Overall, a low prevalence and a moderate lineage diversity were identified in both adults and nestlings, confirming that transmission can occur during the breeding period. Anthropic areas, extensive cultures (hayfields and pastures) and forest cover within 500 km of nest boxes, as well as daily temperature fluctuations, were all related to infection by haemosporidian parasites. These findings suggest that anthropogenic alterations of landscape composition can modulate the prevalence of haemosporidian parasites in Tree swallows. Our results represent a baseline for future comparative studies assessing haemosporidian parasite prevalence in human-modified landscapes.
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17
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Clark NJ, Clegg SM. Integrating phylogenetic and ecological distances reveals new insights into parasite host specificity. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:3074-3086. [PMID: 28295937 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The range of hosts a pathogen infects (host specificity) is a key element of disease risk that may be influenced by both shared phylogenetic history and shared ecological attributes of prospective hosts. Phylospecificity indices quantify host specificity in terms of host relatedness, but can fail to capture ecological attributes that increase susceptibility. For instance, similarity in habitat niche may expose phylogenetically unrelated host species to similar pathogen assemblages. Using a recently proposed method that integrates multiple distances, we assess the relative contributions of host phylogenetic and functional distances to pathogen host specificity (functional-phylogenetic host specificity). We apply this index to a data set of avian malaria parasite (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus spp.) infections from Melanesian birds to show that multihost parasites generally use hosts that are closely related, not hosts with similar habitat niches. We also show that host community phylogenetic ß-diversity (Pßd) predicts parasite Pßd and that individual host species carry phylogenetically clustered Haemoproteus parasite assemblages. Our findings were robust to phylogenetic uncertainty, and suggest that phylogenetic ancestry of both hosts and parasites plays important roles in driving avian malaria host specificity and community assembly. However, restricting host specificity analyses to either recent or historical timescales identified notable exceptions, including a 'habitat specialist' parasite that infects a diversity of unrelated host species with similar habitat niches. This work highlights that integrating ecological and phylogenetic distances provides a powerful approach to better understand drivers of pathogen host specificity and community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Clark
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld, 4343, Australia.,Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Qld, 4111, Australia
| | - Sonya M Clegg
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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