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Rolbiecki L, Izdebska JN. Modern Strategies for Diagnosis and Treatment of Parasitic Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6373. [PMID: 38928081 PMCID: PMC11204150 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Parasites are very widely distributed in the environment and form complex relationships with their hosts, forming host-parasite systems [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Leszek Rolbiecki
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland;
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2
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Lu X, Griebsch C, Norris JM, Ward MP. Landscape, Socioeconomic, and Meteorological Risk Factors for Canine Leptospirosis in Urban Sydney (2017-2023): A Spatial and Temporal Study. Vet Sci 2023; 10:697. [PMID: 38133248 PMCID: PMC10747920 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10120697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Leptospirosis is a potentially fatal zoonotic disease caused by infection with pathogenic Leptospira spp. We described reported clinical cases of canine leptospirosis in the council areas of the Inner West and the City of Sydney, Australia, from December 2017 to January 2023 and tested the association with urban spatial (landscape and socioeconomic factors, community seroprevalence, and urban heat island effect) and temporal (precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature) factors and the cases using log-transformed Poisson models, spatially stratified population-adjusted conditional logistic models, General Additive Models (GAMs), and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models. The results suggested that canine leptospirosis is now endemic in the study area. A longer distance to the nearest veterinary hospital (RR 0.118, 95% CI -4.205--0.065, p < 0.05) and a mildly compromised Index of Economic Resources (IER) (RR 0.202, 95% CI -3.124--0.079, p < 0.05) were significant protective factors against leptospirosis. In areas proximal to the clinical cases and seropositive samples, the presence of tree cover was a strong risk factor for higher odds of canine leptospirosis (OR 5.80, 95% CI 1.12-30.11, p < 0.05). As the first study exploring risk factors associated with canine leptospirosis in urban Sydney, our findings indicate a potential transmission from urban green spaces and the possibility of higher exposure to Leptospira-or increased case detection and reporting-in areas adjacent to veterinary hospitals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Michael P. Ward
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia; (X.L.); (C.G.); (J.M.N.)
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3
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Werner CS, Kasan K, Geyer JK, Elmasri M, Farrell MJ, Nunn CL. Using phylogeographic link-prediction in primates to prioritize human parasite screening. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:583-594. [PMID: 38384356 PMCID: PMC10878720 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Objectives The ongoing risk of emerging infectious disease has renewed calls for understanding the origins of zoonoses and identifying future zoonotic disease threats. Given their close phylogenetic relatedness and geographic overlap with humans, non-human primates (NHPs) have been the source of many infectious diseases throughout human evolution. NHPs harbor diverse parasites, with some infecting only a single host species while others infect species from multiple families. Materials and Methods We applied a novel link-prediction method to predict undocumented instances of parasite sharing between humans and NHPs. Our model makes predictions based on phylogenetic distances and geographic overlap among NHPs and humans in six countries with high NHP diversity: Columbia, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, China and Indonesia. Results Of the 899 human parasites documented in the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON) database for these countries, 12% were shared with at least one other NHP species. The link prediction model identified an additional 54 parasites that are likely to infect humans but were not reported in GIDEON. These parasites were mostly host generalists, yet their phylogenetic host breadth varied substantially. Discussion As human activities and populations encroach on NHP habitats, opportunities for parasite sharing between human and non-human primates will continue to increase. Our study identifies specific infectious organisms to monitor in countries with high NHP diversity, while the comparative analysis of host generalism, parasite taxonomy, and transmission mode provides insights to types of parasites that represent high zoonotic risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney S. Werner
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Koray Kasan
- Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Julie K. Geyer
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Mohamad Elmasri
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maxwell J. Farrell
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Charles L. Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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4
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Chen H, Zhang G, Ding G, Huang J, Zhang H, Vidal MC, Corlett RT, Liu C, An J. Interspecific Host Variation and Biotic Interactions Drive Pathogen Community Assembly in Chinese Bumblebees. INSECTS 2023; 14:887. [PMID: 37999086 PMCID: PMC10672019 DOI: 10.3390/insects14110887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Bumblebees have been considered one of the most important pollinators on the planet. However, recent reports of bumblebee decline have raised concern about a significant threat to ecosystem stability. Infectious diseases caused by multiple pathogen infections have been increasingly recognized as an important mechanism behind this decline worldwide. Understanding the determining factors that influence the assembly and composition of pathogen communities among bumblebees can provide important implications for predicting infectious disease dynamics and making effective conservation policies. Here, we study the relative importance of biotic interactions versus interspecific host resistance in shaping the pathogen community composition of bumblebees in China. We first conducted a comprehensive survey of 13 pathogens from 22 bumblebee species across China. We then applied joint species distribution modeling to assess the determinants of pathogen community composition and examine the presence and strength of pathogen-pathogen associations. We found that host species explained most of the variations in pathogen occurrences and composition, suggesting that host specificity was the most important variable in predicting pathogen occurrences and community composition in bumblebees. Moreover, we detected both positive and negative associations among pathogens, indicating the role of competition and facilitation among pathogens in determining pathogen community assembly. Our research demonstrates the power of a pluralistic framework integrating field survey of bumblebee pathogens with community ecology frameworks to understand the underlying mechanisms of pathogen community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanhuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
- Centre for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization, College of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655011, China
| | - Guangshuo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
| | - Guiling Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
| | - Jiaxing Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
| | - Hong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
| | - Mayra C. Vidal
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA;
| | - Richard T. Corlett
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China;
| | - Cong Liu
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA;
- Department of Organismic and Evolutional Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jiandong An
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; (H.C.); (G.Z.); (G.D.); (J.H.); (H.Z.)
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5
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Reichard M, Koblmüller S, Blažek R, Zimmermann H, Katongo C, Bryjová A, Bryja J. Lack of host specialization despite selective host use in brood parasitic cuckoo catfish. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6070-6082. [PMID: 37861460 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17173] [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: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Host-parasite dynamics involve coevolutionary arms races, which may lead to host specialization and ensuing diversification. Our general understanding of the evolution of host specialization in brood parasites is compromised by a restricted focus on bird and insect lineages. The cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) is an obligate parasite of parental care of mouthbrooding cichlids in Lake Tanganyika. Given the ecological and taxonomic diversity of mouthbrooding cichlids in the lake, we hypothesized the existence of sympatric host-specific lineages in the cuckoo catfish. In a sample of 779 broods from 20 cichlid species, we found four species parasitized by cuckoo catfish (with prevalence of parasitism of 2%-18%). All parasitized cichlids were from the tribe Tropheini, maternal mouthbrooders that spawn over a substrate (rather than in open water). Phylogenetic analysis based on genomic (ddRAD sequencing) and mitochondrial (Dloop) data from cuckoo catfish embryos showed an absence of host-specific lineages. This was corroborated by analyses of genetic structure and co-ancestry matrix. Within host species, parasitism was not associated with any individual characteristic we recorded (parent size, water depth), but was costly as parasitized parents carried smaller clutches of their own offspring. We conclude that the cuckoo catfish is an intermediate generalist and discuss costs, benefits and constraints of host specialization in this species and brood parasites in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | | | - Radim Blažek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Holger Zimmermann
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Cyprian Katongo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Anna Bryjová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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6
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Herrera JP, Moody J, Nunn CL. Predicting primate-parasite associations using exponential random graph models. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:710-722. [PMID: 36633380 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Ecological associations between hosts and parasites are influenced by host exposure and susceptibility to parasites, and by parasite traits, such as transmission mode. Advances in network analysis allow us to answer questions about the causes and consequences of traits in ecological networks in ways that could not be addressed in the past. We used a network-based framework (exponential random graph models or ERGMs) to investigate the biogeographic, phylogenetic and ecological characteristics of hosts and parasites that affect the probability of interactions among nonhuman primates and their parasites. Parasites included arthropods, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses and helminths. We investigated existing hypotheses, along with new predictors and an expanded host-parasite database that included 213 primate nodes, 763 parasite nodes and 2319 edges among them. Analyses also investigated phylogenetic relatedness, sampling effort and spatial overlap among hosts. In addition to supporting some previous findings, our ERGM approach demonstrated that more threatened hosts had fewer parasites, and notably, that this effect was independent of hosts also having a smaller geographic range. Despite having fewer parasites, threatened host species shared more parasites with other hosts, consistent with loss of specialist parasites and threat arising from generalist parasites that can be maintained in other, non-threatened hosts. Viruses, protozoa and helminths had broader host ranges than bacteria, or fungi, and parasites that infect non-primates had a higher probability of infecting more primate species. The value of the ERGM approach for investigating the processes structing host-parasite networks provided a more complete view on the biogeographic, phylogenetic and ecological traits that influence parasite species richness and parasite sharing among hosts. The results supported some previous analyses and revealed new associations that warrant future research, thus revealing how hosts and parasites interact to form ecological networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Herrera
- Duke Lemur Center SAVA Conservation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - James Moody
- Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Charles L Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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7
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Titcomb GC, Pansu J, Hutchinson MC, Tombak KJ, Hansen CB, Baker CCM, Kartzinel TR, Young HS, Pringle RM. Large-herbivore nemabiomes: patterns of parasite diversity and sharing. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212702. [PMID: 35538775 PMCID: PMC9091847 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Amidst global shifts in the distribution and abundance of wildlife and livestock, we have only a rudimentary understanding of ungulate parasite communities and parasite-sharing patterns. We used qPCR and DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples to characterize gastrointestinal nematode (Strongylida) community composition and sharing among 17 sympatric species of wild and domestic large mammalian herbivore in central Kenya. We tested a suite of hypothesis-driven predictions about the role of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness in describing parasite infections. Host species identity explained 27-53% of individual variation in parasite prevalence, richness, community composition and phylogenetic diversity. Host and parasite phylogenies were congruent, host gut morphology predicted parasite community composition and prevalence, and hosts with low evolutionary distinctiveness were centrally positioned in the parasite-sharing network. We found no evidence that host body size, social-group size or feeding height were correlated with parasite composition. Our results highlight the interwoven evolutionary and ecological histories of large herbivores and their gastrointestinal nematodes and suggest that host identity, phylogeny and gut architecture-a phylogenetically conserved trait related to parasite habitat-are the overriding influences on parasite communities. These findings have implications for wildlife management and conservation as wild herbivores are increasingly replaced by livestock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia C. Titcomb
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA,Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Johan Pansu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA,ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Matthew C. Hutchinson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Kaia J. Tombak
- Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA,Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christina B. Hansen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Christopher C. M. Baker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA,US Army ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Tyler R. Kartzinel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA,Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Hillary S. Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA,Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Robert M. Pringle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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Galen SC, Ray S, Henry M, Weckstein JD. Parasite-associated mortality in birds: the roles of specialist parasites and host evolutionary distance. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20210575. [PMID: 35414225 PMCID: PMC9006019 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0575] [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: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The factors that influence whether a parasite is likely to cause death in a given host species are not well known. Generalist parasites with high local abundances, broad distributions and the ability to infect a wide phylogenetic diversity of hosts are often considered especially dangerous for host populations, though comparatively little research has been done on the potential for specialist parasites to cause host mortality. Here, using a novel database of avian mortality records, we tested whether phylogenetic host specialist or host generalist haemosporidian blood parasites were associated with avian host deaths based on infection records from over 81 000 examined hosts. In support of the hypothesis that host specialist parasites can be highly virulent in novel hosts, we found that the parasites that were associated with avian host mortality predominantly infected more closely related host species than expected under a null model. Hosts that died tended to be distantly related to the host species that a parasite lineage typically infects, illustrating that specialist parasites can cause death outside of their limited host range. Overall, this study highlights the overlooked potential for host specialist parasites to cause host mortality despite their constrained ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer C Galen
- Biology Department, University of Scranton, Loyola Science Center, Scranton, PA 18510, USA.,Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
| | - Suravi Ray
- Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.,Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
| | - Marissa Henry
- Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.,Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
| | - Jason D Weckstein
- Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.,Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
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9
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Morandi B, Bazzucchi A, Gambini S, Crotti S, Cruciani D, Morandi F, Napoleoni M, Piseddu T, Di Donato A, Gavaudan S. A novel intermediate host for Taenia serialis (Gervais, 1847): The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L. 1758) from the Monti Sibillini National Park (MSNP), Italy. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2022; 17:110-113. [PMID: 35024334 PMCID: PMC8733149 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Taeniids are multi-host parasites with an indirect life cycle that strictly depends on a predator-prey relationship. Parasites with a complex life cycle may exhibit different degrees of host-specificity at each life stage. Knowing the host breadth is a fundamental concept of the biology and epidemiology of these multi-host parasites. Morphological identification of tapeworms is challenging and occasionally may produce misdiagnosis. Thus, molecular investigations were carried out for the identification of parasitic cysts detected from muscle tissues in a male roe deer necropsied at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati” (Central Italy). Sanger sequencing showed 99% query cover, 2e-109 e-value, and 100% identity with Taenia serialis. The exact definitive host was not revealed in this report, but red foxes and Italian wolves may play a significant role as being widespread within the area. Wildlife surveillance is crucial to monitor for human and animal health since global distribution and flexibility in intermediate hosts of many and even more critical taeniids species may enlarge their host range. A new intermediate host for a not commonly detected tapeworm was documented. A new ecological niche might be hypothesized. Molecular investigation is crucial for the diagnosis of tapeworms to avoid misdiagnosis. To perform necropsy on wildlife is essential for the local and global understanding of free-living animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetto Morandi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
- Corresponding author.
| | - Alessandra Bazzucchi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Sofia Gambini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Silvia Crotti
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Deborah Cruciani
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Federico Morandi
- Monti Sibillini National Park, P.zza Del Forno 1, 62039, Visso, Italy
| | - Maira Napoleoni
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Toni Piseddu
- OIE Reference Laboratory for Echinococcosis, National Reference Laboratory for Cystic Echinococcosis (CeNRE), Istituto Zooprofilattico Della Sardegna (IZS), Via Vienna 2, Sassari, 07100, Italy
| | - Alessandra Di Donato
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Stefano Gavaudan
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell’Umbria e Delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via G.Salvemini, 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy
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10
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Phylogenetics of Historical Host Switches in a Bacterial Plant Pathogen. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0235621. [PMID: 35311514 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02356-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Xylella fastidiosa is an insect-transmitted bacterial plant pathogen found across the Americas and, more recently, worldwide. X. fastidiosa infects plants of at least 563 species belonging to 82 botanical families. While the species X. fastidiosa infects many plants, particular strains have increased plant specificity. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of plant host specificity in X. fastidiosa is vital for predicting host shifts and epidemics. While there may exist multiple genetic determinants of host range in X. fastidiosa, the drivers of the unique relationships between X. fastidiosa and its hosts should be elucidated. Our objective with this study was to predict the ancestral plant hosts of this pathogen using phylogenetic and genomic methods based on a large data set of pathogen whole-genome data from agricultural hosts. We used genomic data to construct maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees of subsets of the core and pan-genomes. With those trees, we ran ML ancestral state reconstructions of plant host at two taxonomic scales (genus and multiorder clades). Both the core and pan-genomes were informative in terms of predicting ancestral host state, giving new insight into the history of the plant hosts of X. fastidiosa. Subsequently, gene gain and loss in the pan-genome were found to be significantly correlated with plant host through genes that had statistically significant associations with particular hosts. IMPORTANCE Xylella fastidiosa is a globally important bacterial plant pathogen with many hosts; however, the underpinnings of host specificity are not known. This paper contains important findings about the usage of phylogenetics to understand the history of host specificity in this bacterial species, as well as convergent evolution in the pan-genome. There are strong signals of historical host range that give us insights into the history of this pathogen and its various invasions. The data from this paper are relevant in making decisions for quarantine and eradication, as they show the historical trends of host switching, which can help us predict likely future host shifts. We also demonstrate that using multilocus sequence type (MLST) genes in this system, which is still a commonly used process for policymaking, does not reconstruct the same phylogenetic topology as whole-genome data.
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Voinson M, Nunn CL, Goldberg A. Primate malarias as a model for cross-species parasite transmission. eLife 2022; 11:e69628. [PMID: 35086643 PMCID: PMC8798051 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites regularly switch into new host species, representing a disease burden and conservation risk to the hosts. The distribution of these parasites also gives insight into characteristics of ecological networks and genetic mechanisms of host-parasite interactions. Some parasites are shared across many species, whereas others tend to be restricted to hosts from a single species. Understanding the mechanisms producing this distribution of host specificity can enable more effective interventions and potentially identify genetic targets for vaccines or therapies. As ecological connections between human and local animal populations increase, the risk to human and wildlife health from novel parasites also increases. Which of these parasites will fizzle out and which have the potential to become widespread in humans? We consider the case of primate malarias, caused by Plasmodium parasites, to investigate the interacting ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that put human and nonhuman primates at risk for infection. Plasmodium host switching from nonhuman primates to humans led to ancient introductions of the most common malaria-causing agents in humans today, and new parasite switching is a growing threat, especially in Asia and South America. Based on a wild host-Plasmodium occurrence database, we highlight geographic areas of concern and potential areas to target further sampling. We also discuss methodological developments that will facilitate clinical and field-based interventions to improve human and wildlife health based on this eco-evolutionary perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Voinson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Charles L Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Duke Global Health, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Amy Goldberg
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
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12
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Farrell MJ, Elmasri M, Stephens D, Davies TJ. Predicting missing links in global host‐parasite networks. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:715-726. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J. Farrell
- Department of Biology McGill University
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department University of Toronto
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases University of Georgia
| | | | - David Stephens
- Department of Mathematics & Statistics McGill University
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Botany, Forest & Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia
- African Centre for DNA Barcoding University of Johannesburg
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13
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Huang S, Farrell M, Stephens PR. Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200350. [PMID: 34538145 PMCID: PMC8450632 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shan Huang
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Maxwell Farrell
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Patrick R. Stephens
- Odum School of Ecology and Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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14
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Farrell MJ, Park AW, Cressler CE, Dallas T, Huang S, Mideo N, Morales-Castilla I, Davies TJ, Stephens P. The ghost of hosts past: impacts of host extinction on parasite specificity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200351. [PMID: 34538147 PMCID: PMC8450631 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of research is focused on the extinction of parasite species in response to host endangerment and declines. Beyond the loss of parasite species richness, host extinction can impact apparent parasite host specificity, as measured by host richness or the phylogenetic distances among hosts. Such impacts on the distribution of parasites across the host phylogeny can have knock-on effects that may reshape the adaptation of both hosts and parasites, ultimately shifting the evolutionary landscape underlying the potential for emergence and the evolution of virulence across hosts. Here, we examine how the reshaping of host phylogenies through extinction may impact the host specificity of parasites, and offer examples from historical extinctions, present-day endangerment, and future projections of biodiversity loss. We suggest that an improved understanding of the impact of host extinction on contemporary host-parasite interactions may shed light on core aspects of disease ecology, including comparative studies of host specificity, virulence evolution in multi-host parasite systems, and future trajectories for host and parasite biodiversity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J. Farrell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Clayton E. Cressler
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Tad Dallas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Shan Huang
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Nicole Mideo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ignacio Morales-Castilla
- Universidad de Alcalá, GloCEE - Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4
- Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa
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15
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Morales-Castilla I, Pappalardo P, Farrell MJ, Aguirre AA, Huang S, Gehman ALM, Dallas T, Gravel D, Davies TJ. Forecasting parasite sharing under climate change. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200360. [PMID: 34538143 PMCID: PMC8450630 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Species are shifting their distributions in response to climate change. This geographic reshuffling may result in novel co-occurrences among species, which could lead to unseen biotic interactions, including the exchange of parasites between previously isolated hosts. Identifying potential new host-parasite interactions would improve forecasting of disease emergence and inform proactive disease surveillance. However, accurate predictions of future cross-species disease transmission have been hampered by the lack of a generalized approach and data availability. Here, we propose a framework to predict novel host-parasite interactions based on a combination of niche modelling of future host distributions and parasite sharing models. Using the North American ungulates as a proof of concept, we show this approach has high cross-validation accuracy in over 85% of modelled parasites and find that more than 34% of the host-parasite associations forecasted by our models have already been recorded in the literature. We discuss potential sources of uncertainty and bias that may affect our results and similar forecasting approaches, and propose pathways to generate increasingly accurate predictions. Our results indicate that forecasting parasite sharing in response to shifts in host geographic distributions allow for the identification of regions and taxa most susceptible to emergent pathogens under climate change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Morales-Castilla
- Universidad de Alcalá, GloCEE - Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paula Pappalardo
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Maxwell J. Farrell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - A. Alonso Aguirre
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4400, USA
| | - Shan Huang
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Centre (SBiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt (Main) 60325, Germany
| | - Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Hakai Institute, end of Kwakshua Channel, Calvert Island, Canada
| | - Tad Dallas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Dominique Gravel
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l'Université, Sherbroke, Canada J1K2R1
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Departments of Botany and Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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16
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Nunn CL, Vining AQ, Chakraborty D, Reiskind MH, Young HS. Effects of host extinction and vector preferences on vector-borne disease risk in phylogenetically structured host-hector communities. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256456. [PMID: 34424937 PMCID: PMC8382198 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbance impacts the phylogenetic composition and diversity of ecological communities. While changes in diversity are known to dramatically change species interactions and alter disease dynamics, the effects of phylogenetic changes in host and vector communities on disease have been relatively poorly studied. Using a theoretical model, we investigated how phylogeny and extinction influence network structural characteristics relevant to disease transmission in disturbed environments. We modelled a multi-host, multi-vector community as a bipartite ecological network, where nodes represent host and vector species and edges represent connections among them through vector feeding, and we simulated vector preferences and threat status on host and parasite phylogenies. We then simulated loss of hosts, including phylogenetically clustered losses, to investigate how extinction influences network structure. We compared effects of phylogeny and extinction to those of host specificity, which we predicted to strongly increase network modularity and reduce disease prevalence. The simulations revealed that extinction often increased modularity, with higher modularity as species loss increased, although not as much as increasing host specificity did. These results suggest that extinction itself, all else being equal, may reduce disease prevalence in disturbed communities. However, in real communities, systematic patterns in species loss (e.g. favoring high competence species) or changes in abundance may counteract these effects. Unexpectedly, we found that effects of phylogenetic signal in host and vector traits were relatively weak, and only important when phylogenetic signal of host and vector traits were similar, or when these traits both varied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles L. Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Alexander Q. Vining
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Animal Behavior, UC Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Debapriyo Chakraborty
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- INRAE ENVT IHAP, National Veterinary School of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Michael H. Reiskind
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Hillary S. Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
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17
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von Beeren C, Blüthgen N, Hoenle PO, Pohl S, Brückner A, Tishechkin AK, Maruyama M, Brown BV, Hash JM, Hall WE, Kronauer DJC. A remarkable legion of guests: Diversity and host specificity of army ant symbionts. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5229-5246. [PMID: 34406688 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Tropical rainforests are among the most diverse biomes on Earth. While species inventories are far from complete for any tropical rainforest, even less is known about the intricate species interactions that form the basis of these ecological communities. One fascinating but poorly studied example are the symbiotic associations between army ants and their rich assemblages of parasitic arthropod guests. Hundreds of these guests, or myrmecophiles, have been taxonomically described. However, because previous work has mainly been based on haphazard collections from disjunct populations, it remains challenging to define species boundaries. We therefore know little about the species richness, abundance and host specificity of most guests in any given population, which is crucial to understand co-evolutionary and ecological dynamics. Here, we report a quantitative community survey of myrmecophiles parasitizing the six sympatric Eciton army ant species in a Costa Rican rainforest. Combining DNA barcoding with morphological identification of over 2,000 specimens, we discovered 62 species, including 49 beetles, 11 flies, one millipede and one silverfish. At least 14 of these species were new to science. Ecological network analysis revealed a clear signal of host partitioning, and each Eciton species was host to both specialists and generalists. These varying degrees in host specificities translated into a moderate level of network specificity, highlighting the system's level of biotic pluralism in terms of biodiversity and interaction diversity. By providing vouchered DNA barcodes for army ant guest species, this study provides a baseline for future work on co-evolutionary and ecological dynamics in these species-rich host-symbiont networks across the Neotropical realm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph von Beeren
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.,Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Philipp O Hoenle
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Pohl
- Division of Science, Yale-NUS College, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Alexey K Tishechkin
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | | | - Brian V Brown
- Entomology Section, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - John M Hash
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
| | - W E Hall
- University of Arizona Insect Collection, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, NY, USA
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18
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Clark NF, Taylor-Robinson AW. An Ecologically Framed Comparison of The Potential for Zoonotic Transmission of Non-Human and Human-Infecting Species of Malaria Parasite. THE YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2021; 94:361-373. [PMID: 34211355 PMCID: PMC8223545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The threats, both real and perceived, surrounding the development of new and emerging infectious diseases of humans are of critical concern to public health and well-being. Among these risks is the potential for zoonotic transmission to humans of species of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, that have been considered historically to infect exclusively non-human hosts. Recently observed shifts in the mode, transmission, and presentation of malaria among several species studied are evidenced by shared vectors, atypical symptoms, and novel host-seeking behavior. Collectively, these changes indicate the presence of environmental and ecological pressures that are likely to influence the dynamics of these parasite life cycles and physiological make-up. These may be further affected and amplified by such factors as increased urban development and accelerated rate of climate change. In particular, the extended host-seeking behavior of what were once considered non-human malaria species indicates the specialist niche of human malaria parasites is not a limiting factor that drives the success of blood-borne parasites. While zoonotic transmission of non-human malaria parasites is generally considered to not be possible for the vast majority of Plasmodium species, failure to consider the feasibility of its occurrence may lead to the emergence of a potentially life-threatening blood-borne disease of humans. Here, we argue that recent trends in behavior among what were hitherto considered to be non-human malaria parasites to infect humans call for a cross-disciplinary, ecologically-focused approach to understanding the complexities of the vertebrate host/mosquito vector/malaria parasite triangular relationship. This highlights a pressing need to conduct a multi-species investigation for which we recommend the construction of a database to determine ecological differences among all known Plasmodium species, vectors, and hosts. Closing this knowledge gap may help to inform alternative means of malaria prevention and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole F. Clark
- Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra,
Bruce, Australia,College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders
University, Australia
| | - Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson
- Infectious Diseases Research Group, School of Health,
Medical & Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Brisbane,
Australia,College of Health & Human Sciences, Charles Darwin
University, Casuarina, Australia,To whom all correspondence should be addressed:
Prof Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson, Infectious Diseases Research Group, School of
Health, Medical & Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, 160 Ann
Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia; Tel: +61 7 3295 1185;
; ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7342-8348
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19
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Wardeh M, Blagrove MSC, Sharkey KJ, Baylis M. Divide-and-conquer: machine-learning integrates mammalian and viral traits with network features to predict virus-mammal associations. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3954. [PMID: 34172731 PMCID: PMC8233343 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24085-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Our knowledge of viral host ranges remains limited. Completing this picture by identifying unknown hosts of known viruses is an important research aim that can help identify and mitigate zoonotic and animal-disease risks, such as spill-over from animal reservoirs into human populations. To address this knowledge-gap we apply a divide-and-conquer approach which separates viral, mammalian and network features into three unique perspectives, each predicting associations independently to enhance predictive power. Our approach predicts over 20,000 unknown associations between known viruses and susceptible mammalian species, suggesting that current knowledge underestimates the number of associations in wild and semi-domesticated mammals by a factor of 4.3, and the average potential mammalian host-range of viruses by a factor of 3.2. In particular, our results highlight a significant knowledge gap in the wild reservoirs of important zoonotic and domesticated mammals' viruses: specifically, lyssaviruses, bornaviruses and rotaviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Wardeh
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
| | - Marcus S C Blagrove
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Kieran J Sharkey
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Matthew Baylis
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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20
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Schatz AM, Park AW. Host and parasite traits predict cross-species parasite acquisition by introduced mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210341. [PMID: 33947240 PMCID: PMC8097221 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Species invasions and range shifts can lead to novel host-parasite communities, but we lack general rules on which new associations are likely to form. While many studies examine parasite sharing among host species, the directionality of transmission is typically overlooked, impeding our ability to derive principles of parasite acquisition. Consequently, we analysed parasite records from the non-native ranges of 11 carnivore and ungulate species. Using boosted regression trees, we modelled parasite acquisition within each zoogeographic realm of a focal host's non-native range, using a suite of predictors characterizing the parasites themselves and the host community in which they live. We found that higher parasite prevalence among established hosts increases the likelihood of acquisition, particularly for generalist parasites. Non-native host species are also more likely to acquire parasites from established host species to which they are closely related; however, the acquisition of several parasite groups is biased to phylogenetically specialist parasites, indicating potential costs of parasite generalism. Statistical models incorporating these features provide an accurate prediction of parasite acquisition, indicating that measurable host and parasite traits can be used to estimate the likelihood of new host-parasite associations forming. This work provides general rules to help anticipate novel host-parasite associations created by climate change and other anthropogenic influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annakate M. Schatz
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Andrew W. Park
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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21
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Dallas TA, Jordano P. Species-area and network-area relationships in host-helminth interactions. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203143. [PMID: 33757356 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The scaling relationship observed between species richness and the geographical area sampled (i.e. the species-area relationship (SAR)) is a widely recognized macroecological relationship. Recently, this theory has been extended to trophic interactions, suggesting that geographical area may influence the structure of species interaction networks (i.e. network-area relationships (NARs)). Here, we use a global dataset of host-helminth parasite interactions to test existing predictions from macroecological theory. Scaling between single locations to the global host-helminth network by sequentially adding networks together, we find support that geographical area influences species richness and the number of species interactions in host-helminth networks. However, species-area slopes were larger for host species relative to their helminth parasites, counter to theoretical predictions. Lastly, host-helminth network modularity-capturing the tendency of the network to form into separate subcommunities-decreased with increasing area, also counter to theoretical predictions. Reconciling this disconnect between existing theory and observed SAR and NAR will provide insight into the spatial structuring of ecological networks, and help to refine theory to highlight the effects of network type, species distributional overlap, and the specificity of trophic interactions on NARs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tad A Dallas
- Department of Biological Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Americo Vespucio, Isla de La Cartuja, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
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22
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Effects of land use, habitat characteristics, and small mammal community composition on Leptospira prevalence in northeast Madagascar. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 14:e0008946. [PMID: 33382723 PMCID: PMC7774828 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human activities can increase or decrease risks of acquiring a zoonotic disease, notably by affecting the composition and abundance of hosts. This study investigated the links between land use and infectious disease risk in northeast Madagascar, where human subsistence activities and population growth are encroaching on native habitats and the associated biota. We collected new data on pathogenic Leptospira, which are bacteria maintained in small mammal reservoirs. Transmission can occur through close contact, but most frequently through indirect contact with water contaminated by the urine of infected hosts. The probability of infection and prevalence was compared across a gradient of natural moist evergreen forest, nearby forest fragments, flooded rice and other types of agricultural fields, and in homes in a rural village. Using these data, we tested specific hypotheses for how land use alters ecological communities and influences disease transmission. The relative abundance and proportion of exotic species was highest in the anthropogenic habitats, while the relative abundance of native species was highest in the forested habitats. Prevalence of Leptospira was significantly higher in introduced compared to endemic species. Lastly, the probability of infection with Leptospira was highest in introduced small mammal species, and lower in forest fragments compared to other habitat types. Our results highlight how human land use affects the small mammal community composition and in turn disease dynamics. Introduced species likely transmit Leptospira to native species where they co-occur, and may displace the Leptospira species naturally occurring in Madagascar. The frequent spatial overlap of people and introduced species likely also has consequences for public health. Many neglected tropical diseases have reservoirs in wildlife. The effects of human activities on wildlife include changes in species abundance, community composition, and the transmission dynamics of parasites. Introduced species, especially black rats (Rattus rattus) are known to transmit zoonotic diseases among wildlife species and people. Leptospira, a water-borne bacterium that infects wildlife and people, is an important pathogen in the tropics, and in Madagascar, multiple strains and hosts have been identified. We tested how land use gradients in a forest-frontier agricultural system affect the composition of small mammal communities, and in turn the prevalence of Leptospira. We investigated 11 species of small mammals, including native rodents and tenrecs, as well as introduced rodents and shrews, in old growth forest, forest fragments, agricultural fields, and in a village. Leptospira prevalence and infection risk were highest in introduced species compared to native species and lower in forest fragments. The results highlight how the introduction of non-native species affects the variation in disease prevalence in small mammals, with potential consequences for spill-over to people.
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23
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LoScerbo D, Farrell MJ, Arrowsmith J, Mlynarek J, Lessard J. Phylogenetically conserved host traits and local abiotic conditions jointly drive the geography of parasite intensity. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniella LoScerbo
- Department of Biology Concordia University Montréal QC Canada
- Department of Environmental Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC Canada
| | - Maxwell J. Farrell
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department University of Toronto Toronto ON Canada
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases University of Georgia Athens GA USA
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24
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Dáttilo W, Barrozo-Chávez N, Lira-Noriega A, Guevara R, Villalobos F, Santiago-Alarcon D, Neves FS, Izzo T, Ribeiro SP. Species-level drivers of mammalian ectoparasite faunas. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1754-1765. [PMID: 32198927 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Traditionally, most studies have described the organization of host-parasite interaction networks by considering only few host groups at limited geographical extents. However, host-parasite relationships are merged within different taxonomic groups and factors shaping these interactions likely differ between host and parasite groups, making group-level differences important to better understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of these interactive communities. Here we used a dataset of 629 ectoparasite species and 251 species of terrestrial mammals, comprising 10 orders distributed across the Nearctic and Neotropical regions of Mexico to assess the species-level drivers of mammalian ectoparasite faunas. Specifically, we evaluated whether body weight, geographical range size and within-range mammal species richness (i.e. diversity field) predict mammal ectoparasite species richness (i.e. degree centrality) and their closeness centrality within the mammal-ectoparasite network. In addition, we also tested if the observed patterns differ among mammal orders and if taxonomic closely related host mammals could more likely share the same set of ectoparasites. We found that ectoparasite species richness of small mammals (mainly rodents) with large proportional range sizes was high compared to large-bodied mammals, whereas the diversity field of mammals had no predictive value (except for bats). We also observed that taxonomic proximity was a main determinant of the probability to share ectoparasite species. Specifically, the probability to share ectoparasites in congeneric species reached up to 90% and decreased exponentially as the taxonomic distance increased. Further, we also detected that some ectoparasites are generalists and capable to infect mammalian species across different orders and that rodents have a remarkable role in the network structure, being closely connected to many other taxa. Hence, because many rodent species have synanthropic habits they could act as undesired reservoirs of disease agents for humans and urban animals. Considering the reported worldwide phenomenon of the proliferation of rodents accompanying the demographic decrease or even local extinction of large-bodied mammal species, these organisms may already be an increasing health threat in many regions of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Nathalia Barrozo-Chávez
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil
| | | | - Roger Guevara
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | | | - Diego Santiago-Alarcon
- Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Frederico Siqueira Neves
- Departamento de Genética, Ecología e Evoluçã, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Thiago Izzo
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil
| | - Sérvio Pontes Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Ecohealth, Ecologia de Insetos de Dossel e Sucessão Natural, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
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25
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Elmasri M, Farrell MJ, Davies TJ, Stephens DA. A hierarchical Bayesian model for predicting ecological interactions using scaled evolutionary relationships. Ann Appl Stat 2020. [DOI: 10.1214/19-aoas1296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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26
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Abstract
While many viruses of wild mammals are capable of infecting humans, our understanding of zoonotic potential is incomplete. Viruses vary in their degree of generalism, characterized by the phylogenetic relationships of their hosts. Among the dimensions of this phylogenetic landscape, phylogenetic aggregation, which is largely overlooked in studies of parasite host range, emerges in this study as a key predictor of zoonotic status of viruses. Plausibly, viruses that exhibit aggregation, typified by discrete clusters of related host species, may (i) have been able to close the phylogenetic distance to humans, (ii) have subsequently acquired an epidemiologically relevant host and (iii) exhibit relatively high fitness in realized host communities, which are frequently phylogenetically aggregated. These mechanisms associated with phylogenetic aggregation may help explain why correlated fundamental traits, such as the ability of viruses to replicate in the cytoplasm, are associated with zoonoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Park
- Odum School of Ecology, Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases and Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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27
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Dallas TA, Laine AL, Ovaskainen O. Detecting parasite associations within multi-species host and parasite communities. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191109. [PMID: 31575371 PMCID: PMC6790755 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the role of biotic interactions in shaping natural communities is a long-standing challenge in ecology. It is particularly pertinent to parasite communities sharing the same host communities and individuals, as the interactions among parasites-both competition and facilitation-may have far-reaching implications for parasite transmission and evolution. Aggregated parasite burdens may suggest that infected host individuals are either more prone to infection, or that infection by a parasite species facilitates another, leading to a positive parasite-parasite interaction. However, parasite species may also compete for host resources, leading to the prediction that parasite-parasite associations would be generally negative, especially when parasite species infect the same host tissue, competing for both resources and space. We examine the presence and strength of parasite associations using hierarchical joint species distribution models fitted to data on resident parasite communities sampled on over 1300 small mammal individuals across 22 species and their resident parasite communities. On average, we detected more positive associations between infecting parasite species than negative, with the most negative associations occurring when two parasite species infected the same host tissue, suggesting that parasite species associations may be quantifiable from observational data. Overall, our findings suggest that parasite community prediction at the level of the individual host is possible, and that parasite species associations may be detectable in complex multi-species communities, generating many hypotheses concerning the effect of host community changes on parasite community composition, parasite competition within infected hosts, and the drivers of parasite community assembly and structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tad A. Dallas
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Anna-Liisa Laine
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway
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28
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Loxdale HD, Balog A, Harvey JA. Generalism in Nature…The Great Misnomer: Aphids and Wasp Parasitoids as Examples. INSECTS 2019; 10:insects10100314. [PMID: 31554276 PMCID: PMC6835564 DOI: 10.3390/insects10100314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the present article we discuss why, in our view, the term ‘generalism’ to define the dietary breadth of a species is a misnomer and should be revised by entomologists/ecologists with the more exact title relating to the animal in question’s level of phagy—mono-, oligo, or polyphagy. We discard generalism as a concept because of the indisputable fact that all living organisms fill a unique ecological niche, and that entry and exit from such niches are the acknowledged routes and mechanisms driving ecological divergence and ultimately speciation. The term specialist is probably still useful and we support its continuing usage simply because all species and lower levels of evolutionary diverge are indeed specialists to a large degree. Using aphids and parasitoid wasps as examples, we provide evidence from the literature that even some apparently highly polyphagous agricultural aphid pest species and their wasp parasitoids are probably not as polyphagous as formerly assumed. We suggest that the shifting of plant hosts by herbivorous insects like aphids, whilst having positive benefits in reducing competition, and reducing antagonists by moving the target organism into ‘enemy free space’, produces trade-offs in survival, involving relaxed selection in the case of the manicured agro-ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugh D Loxdale
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AX, UK.
| | - Adalbert Balog
- Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Technical and Human Science, Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Sighisoara Str. 1C., 540485 Tirgu-Mures, Romania.
| | - Jeffrey A Harvey
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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29
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Abstract
Complex life cycle parasites, including helminths, use intermediate hosts for development and definitive hosts for reproduction, with interactions between the two host types governed by food web structure. I study how a parasite's intermediate host range is controlled by the diet breadth of definitive host species and the cost of parasite generalism, a putative fitness cost that assumes host range trades off against fitness derived from a host species. In spite of such costs, a benefit to generalism may occur when the definitive host exhibits a large diet breadth, enhancing transmission of generalist parasites via consumption of a broad array of infected intermediate hosts. I develop a simple theoretical model to demonstrate how different host range infection strategies are differentially selected for across a gradient of definitive host diet breadth according to the cost of generalism. I then use a parasitic helminth-host database in conjunction with a food web database to show that diet breadth of definitive hosts promotes generalist infection strategies at the intermediate host level, indicating relatively low costs of parasite generalism among helminths.
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Affiliation(s)
- A W Park
- Odum School of Ecology, Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases and Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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30
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Herrera JP, Chakraborty D, Rushmore J, Altizer S, Nunn C. The changing ecology of primate parasites: Insights from wild-captive comparisons. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e22991. [PMID: 31265141 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Host movements, including migrations or range expansions, are known to influence parasite communities. Transitions to captivity-a rarely studied yet widespread human-driven host movement-can also change parasite communities, in some cases leading to pathogen spillover among wildlife species, or between wildlife and human hosts. We compared parasite species richness between wild and captive populations of 22 primate species, including macro- (helminths and arthropods) and micro-parasites (viruses, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi). We predicted that captive primates would have only a subset of their native parasite community, and would possess fewer parasites with complex life cycles requiring intermediate hosts or vectors. We further predicted that captive primates would have parasites transmitted by close contact and environmentally-including those shared with humans and other animals, such as commensals and pests. We found that the composition of primate parasite communities shifted in captive populations, especially because of turnover (parasites detected in captivity but not reported in the wild), but with some evidence of nestedness (holdovers from the wild). Because of the high degree of turnover, we found no significant difference in overall parasite richness between captive and wild primates. Vector-borne parasites were less likely to be found in captivity, whereas parasites transmitted through either close or non-close contact, including through fecal-oral transmission, were more likely to be newly detected in captivity. These findings identify parasites that require monitoring in captivity and raise concerns about the introduction of novel parasites to potentially susceptible wildlife populations during reintroduction programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Herrera
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Debapriyo Chakraborty
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.,EcoHealth Alliance, New York, New York
| | - Julie Rushmore
- Epicenter for Disease Dynamics, One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California.,Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens
| | - Sonia Altizer
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens
| | - Charles Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.,Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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31
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Bedbugs Evolved before Their Bat Hosts and Did Not Co-speciate with Ancient Humans. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1847-1853.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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32
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Host Specificity in Variable Environments. Trends Parasitol 2019; 35:452-465. [PMID: 31047808 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Host specificity encompasses the range and diversity of host species that a parasite is capable of infecting and is considered a crucial measure of a parasite's potential to shift hosts and trigger disease emergence. Yet empirical studies rarely consider that regional observations only reflect a parasite's 'realized' host range under particular conditions: the true 'fundamental' range of host specificity is typically not approached. We provide an overview of challenges and directions in modelling host specificity under variable environmental conditions. Combining tractable modelling frameworks with multiple data sources that account for the strong interplay between a parasite's evolutionary history, transmission mode, and environmental filters that shape host-parasite interactions will improve efforts to quantify emerging disease risk in times of global change.
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33
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Engelstädter J, Fortuna NZ. The dynamics of preferential host switching: Host phylogeny as a key predictor of parasite distribution. Evolution 2019; 73:1330-1340. [PMID: 30847894 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Parasites often jump to and become established in a new host species. There is much evidence that the probability of such host shifts decreases with increasing phylogenetic distance between donor and recipient hosts, but the consequences of such preferential host switching remain little explored. We develop a computational model to investigate the dynamics of parasite host shifts in the presence of this phylogenetic distance effect. In this model, a clade of parasites evolves on an evolving clade of host species where parasites can cospeciate with their hosts, switch to new hosts, speciate within hosts or become extinct. Our model predicts that host phylogenies are major determinants of parasite distributions across trees. In particular, we predict that trees consisting of few large clades of host species and those with fast species turnover should harbor more parasites than trees with many small clades and those that diversify more slowly. Within trees, large clades are predicted to exhibit a higher fraction of infected species than small clades. We discuss our results in the light of recent cophylogenetic studies in a wide range of host-parasite systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Engelstädter
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nicole Z Fortuna
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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34
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Fecchio A, Wells K, Bell JA, Tkach VV, Lutz HL, Weckstein JD, Clegg SM, Clark NJ. Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:547-557. [PMID: 30637890 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Parasites with low host specificity (e.g. infecting a large diversity of host species) are of special interest in disease ecology, as they are likely more capable of circumventing ecological or evolutionary barriers to infect new hosts than are specialist parasites. Yet for many parasites, host specificity is not fixed and can vary in response to environmental conditions. Using data on host associations for avian malaria parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida), we develop a hierarchical model that quantifies this environmental dependency by partitioning host specificity variation into region- and parasite-level effects. Parasites were generally phylogenetic host specialists, infecting phylogenetically clustered subsets of available avian hosts. However, the magnitude of this specialisation varied biogeographically, with parasites exhibiting higher host specificity in regions with more pronounced rainfall seasonality and wetter dry seasons. Recognising the environmental dependency of parasite specialisation can provide useful leverage for improving predictions of infection risk in response to global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Fecchio
- Laboratório de Evolução e Biogeografia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Jeremoabo 147, Salvador, BA, 40170115, Brazil
| | - Konstans Wells
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Jeffrey A Bell
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, 1 Campus Drive and Cornell Street, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA
| | - Vasyl V Tkach
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, 10 Cornell Street, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA
| | - Holly L Lutz
- Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL, 606372, USA.,Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
| | - Jason D Weckstein
- Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences and Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, USA
| | - Sonya M Clegg
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Nicholas J Clark
- School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld, Australia
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35
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Dallas TA, Han BA, Nunn CL, Park AW, Stephens PR, Drake JM. Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tad A. Dallas
- Centre for Ecological Change, Univ. of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
- Odum School of Ecology, Univ. of Georgia; Athens GA 30602 USA
| | | | | | - Andrew W. Park
- Odum School of Ecology, Univ. of Georgia; Athens GA 30602 USA
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Georgia; Athens GA USA
| | | | - John M. Drake
- Odum School of Ecology, Univ. of Georgia; Athens GA 30602 USA
- Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Georgia; Athens GA USA
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