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de Angeli Dutra D, Khan AU, Ferreira FC, Beirão MV, Pichorim M, Moreira PA, Braga ÉM. Host phylogeny and seasonality shapes avian haemosporidian prevalence in a Brazilian biodiverse and dry forest: the Caatinga. Parasitology 2023; 150:1277-1285. [PMID: 37246557 PMCID: PMC10941212 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182023000549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The relationships between host phylogenetics, functional traits and parasites in wildlife remain poorly understood in the Neotropics, especially in habitats with marked seasonal variation. Here, we examined the effect of seasonality and host functional traits on the prevalence of avian haemosporidians (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the Brazilian Caatinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest. 933 birds were evaluated for haemosporidian infections. We found a high parasitism prevalence (51.2%), which was correlated with phylogenetic relatedness among avian species. Prevalence varied drastically among the 20 well-sampled species, ranging from 0 to 70%. Seasonality was the main factor associated with infections, but how this abiotic condition influenced parasite prevalence varied according to the host-parasite system. Plasmodium prevalence increased during the rainy season and, after excluding the large sample size of Columbiformes (n = 462/933), Plasmodium infection rate was maintained high in the wet season and showed a negative association with host body mass. No association was found between non-Columbiform bird prevalence and seasonality or body mass when evaluating both Plasmodium and Haemoproteus or only Haemoproteus infections. Parasite community was composed of 32 lineages including 7 new lineages. We evidenced that even dry domains can harbour a high prevalence and diversity of vector-borne parasites and pointed out seasonality as a ruling factor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Asmat U Khan
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Department of Zoology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal Dir Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
| | - Francisco C Ferreira
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Schubot Centre for Avian Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Marina V Beirão
- Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolução e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil
| | - Mauro Pichorim
- Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Ciências de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Patrícia A Moreira
- Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolução e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil
| | - Érika M Braga
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
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Evolutionary consequences of vector-borne transmission: how using vectors shapes host, vector and pathogen evolution. Parasitology 2022; 149:1667-1678. [PMID: 36200511 PMCID: PMC10090782 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182022001378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Transmission mode is a key factor that influences host–parasite coevolution. Vector-borne pathogens are among the most important disease agents for humans and wildlife due to their broad distribution, high diversity, prevalence and lethality. They comprise some of the most important and widespread human pathogens, such as yellow fever, leishmania and malaria. Vector-borne parasites (in this review, those transmitted by blood-feeding Diptera) follow unique transmission routes towards their vertebrate hosts. Consequently, each part of this tri-partite (i.e. parasite, vector and host) interaction can influence co- and counter-evolutionary pressures among antagonists. This mode of transmission may favour the evolution of greater virulence to the vertebrate host; however, pathogen–vector interactions can also have a broad spectrum of fitness costs to the insect vector. To complete their life cycle, vector-borne pathogens must overcome immune responses from 2 unrelated organisms, since they can activate responses in both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, possibly creating a trade-off between investments against both types of immunity. Here, we assess how dipteran vector-borne transmission shapes the evolution of hosts, vectors and the pathogens themselves. Hosts, vectors and pathogens co-evolve together in a constant antagonistic arms race with each participant's primary goal being to maximize its performance and fitness.
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First record of haemosporidian parasites infecting swifts (Aves: Apodidae). Acta Trop 2019; 197:105070. [PMID: 31233727 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Avian malaria is a widespread infection caused by parasites from the Order Haemosporida. Indeed, Neotropical swifts are interesting models for host-parasite coevolution studies due to their unique life history that may allow them to escape parasitism. Considering this, we evaluated haemosporidians from Neotropical swifts. We collected blood and prepared smears from 277 individuals from waterfalls in Brazil. Despite low parasitemia or absence of parasites detected by microscopy haemosporidian infection was detected in 44 swifts (15.8%) using a screening PCR that amplifies a 154-nucleotide segment of ribosomal RNA coding sequence within the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Although previous studies reported absence of these parasites in European and North American swifts our data suggest that Neotropical swifts are susceptible to haemosporidians. Further studies will add information about evolutionary and ecological aspects of avian haemosporidia in Neotropical Cypseloidinae swifts.
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Čandek K, Agnarsson I, Binford GJ, Kuntner M. Biogeography of the Caribbean Cyrtognatha spiders. Sci Rep 2019; 9:397. [PMID: 30674906 PMCID: PMC6344596 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36590-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Island systems provide excellent arenas to test evolutionary hypotheses pertaining to gene flow and diversification of dispersal-limited organisms. Here we focus on an orbweaver spider genus Cyrtognatha (Tetragnathidae) from the Caribbean, with the aims to reconstruct its evolutionary history, examine its biogeographic history in the archipelago, and to estimate the timing and route of Caribbean colonization. Specifically, we test if Cyrtognatha biogeographic history is consistent with an ancient vicariant scenario (the GAARlandia landbridge hypothesis) or overwater dispersal. We reconstructed a species level phylogeny based on one mitochondrial (COI) and one nuclear (28S) marker. We then used this topology to constrain a time-calibrated mtDNA phylogeny, for subsequent biogeographical analyses in BioGeoBEARS of over 100 originally sampled Cyrtognatha individuals, using models with and without a founder event parameter. Our results suggest a radiation of Caribbean Cyrtognatha, containing 11 to 14 species that are exclusively single island endemics. Although biogeographic reconstructions cannot refute a vicariant origin of the Caribbean clade, possibly an artifact of sparse outgroup availability, they indicate timing of colonization that is much too recent for GAARlandia to have played a role. Instead, an overwater colonization to the Caribbean in mid-Miocene better explains the data. From Hispaniola, Cyrtognatha subsequently dispersed to, and diversified on, the other islands of the Greater, and Lesser Antilles. Within the constraints of our island system and data, a model that omits the founder event parameter from biogeographic analysis is less suitable than the equivalent model with a founder event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klemen Čandek
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of the Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Ingi Agnarsson
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA
| | - Greta J Binford
- Department of Biology, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Matjaž Kuntner
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA
- College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of the Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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