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1.
    
Mistletoes are parasitic plants, the spatial distributions of which are poorly understood on macroecological scales. Because of their highly unusual life history, investigating mistletoe macroecology may provide new insight into broad‐scale patterns in species distributions. We collated data on the spatial distribution and host use of 65 species of Loranthaceous mistletoes across the continent of Australia, and tested two predictions. First, we predicted mistletoe diversity would be unrelated to productivity (i.e. evapotranspiration and precipitation), as the parasitic lifestyle might relax environmental constraints on their distributions. Second, we predicted that mistletoe host ranges (number of infected host species) would increase in areas with more potential host species. The basis of this prediction is that greater host generality is likely to evolve in regions with greater host diversity because of greater unpredictability in encounter rates with particular host species. Conversely, in regions with fewer potential hosts, randomly dispersing mistletoe propagules are likely to repeatedly encounter particular host species, thus favouring the evolution of host specialization. The results were generally consistent with these predictions. Mistletoe diversity across Australia was weakly associated with environmental conditions, whereas mistletoe host ranges increased significantly with total plant diversity. Macroecological patterns in mistletoes are unusual. In contrast to non‐parasitic plants, mistletoe diversity is poorly correlated with productivity. Host ranges varied predictably across Australia, providing the first quantitative support for the hypothesis that mistletoes in diverse regions tend to be host generalists, whereas mistletoes in depauperate regions tend to be host specialists. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106 , 459–468.  相似文献   

2.
    
Characterizing genetic variation in parasite transmission traits and its contribution to parasite vigor is essential for understanding the evolution of parasite life‐history traits. We measured genetic variation in output, activity, survival, and infection success of clonal transmission stages (cercaria larvae) of a complex life cycle parasite (Diplostomum pseudospathaceum). We further tested if variation in host nutritional stage had an effect on these traits by keeping hosts on limited or ad libitum diet. The traits we measured were highly variable among parasite genotypes indicating significant genetic variation in these life‐history traits. Traits were also phenotypically variable, for example, there was significant variation in the measured traits over time within each genotype. However, host nutritional stage had no effect on the parasite traits suggesting that a short‐term reduction in host resources was not limiting the cercarial output or performance. Overall, these results suggest significant interclonal and phenotypic variation in parasite transmission traits that are not affected by host nutritional status.  相似文献   

3.
    
According to the Red Queen hypothesis, hosts and pathogens are engaged in an escalating coevolutionary arms race between resistance and virulence. However, the vast majority of symbionts colonize their hosts' mucosal compartments without triggering any immune response, resulting in durable commensal associations. Here, I propose a simple extension of previous mathematical models for antagonistic coevolution in which the host can mount a delayed immune response; in response, the symbiont can change its virulence following this activation. Even though the levels of virulence in both phases are assumed to be genetically determined, this simple form of plasticity can select for commensal associations. In particular, coevolution can result in hosts that do not activate their immune response, thus preventing phenotypically plastic pathogens from switching to a higher virulence level. I argue that, from the host's point of view, this state is analogous to the mafia behaviour previously described in avian brood parasites. More importantly, this study provides a new hypothesis for the maintenance of a commensal relationship through antagonistic coevolution.  相似文献   

4.
    
Antagonistic co‐evolution between hosts and parasites (reciprocal selection for resistance and infectivity) is hypothesized to play an important role in host range expansion by selecting for novel infectivity alleles, but tests are lacking. Here, we determine whether experimental co‐evolution between a bacterium (Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25) and a phage (SBW25Φ2) affects interstrain host range: the ability to infect different strains of P. fluorescens other than SBW25. We identified and tested a genetically and phenotypically diverse suite of co‐evolved phage variants of SBW25Φ2 against both sympatric and allopatric co‐evolving hosts (P. fluorescens SBW25) and a large set of other P. fluorescens strains. Although all co‐evolved phage had a greater host range than the ancestral phage and could differentially infect co‐evolved variants of P. fluorescens SBW25, none could infect any of the alternative P. fluorescens strains. Thus, parasite generalism at one genetic scale does not appear to affect generalism at other scales, suggesting fundamental genetic constraints on parasite adaptation for this virus.  相似文献   

5.
    
Parasites with heteroxen cycles are important sources of information on the trophic relations of hosts. This is particularly instructive for species whose age‐based or sex‐based differences are hardly detected by behavioural observations. Here, we describe the helminth community of the omnivorous southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) and evaluate whether it is affected by the host's sex, age and body size. The species is sexually monomorphic in body length, but males are slightly heavier than females. We analysed 112 individuals collected in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 2010. All hosts were parasitized. The helminth community was composed of 10 species (the digeneans Leucochloridium parcum and Athesmia sp., the cestode Infula macrophallus, the acantocephalans Plagiorhynchus sp., Centrorhynchus sp., Mediorhynchus sp., and an unidentified Gigantorhynchida, and the nematodes Heterakis psophiae, Dispharynx nasuta and an unidentified Capillariidae), seven of which were novel reports for this host species. Prevalence ranged from <1% to 99%. Whereas I. macrophallus was the most prevalent species, D. nasuta showed the highest mean intensity and abundance of infection. The former was found in most hosts as single male–female pairs, suggesting the occurrence of intrasexual competition. The infracommunities of juvenile birds showed a higher parasite species richness than those of adult males and females, suggesting the exploitation of a wider array of prey. However, the three classes harboured seven parasite species. Differences in parasite diversity (lower in juveniles, intermediate in adult males and higher in adult females) reflect the evenness in the distribution of parasite specimens among taxa in each age–sex class and are compatible with differences in their foraging strategy. Finally, we conclude based on the cycles of the heteroxen species that southern lapwings preyed upon molluscs, coleopterans, woodlice and earthworms.  相似文献   

6.
    
Host–parasite coevolution stems from reciprocal selection on host resistance and parasite infectivity, and can generate some of the strongest selective pressures known in nature. It is widely seen as a major driver of diversification, the most extreme case being parallel speciation in hosts and their associated parasites. Here, we report on endoparasitic nematodes, most likely members of the mermithid family, infecting different Timema stick insect species throughout California. The nematodes develop in the hemolymph of their insect host and kill it upon emergence, completely impeding host reproduction. Given the direct exposure of the endoparasites to the host's immune system in the hemolymph, and the consequences of infection on host fitness, we predicted that divergence among hosts may drive parallel divergence in the endoparasites. Our phylogenetic analyses suggested the presence of two differentiated endoparasite lineages. However, independently of whether the two lineages were considered separately or jointly, we found a complete lack of codivergence between the endoparasitic nematodes and their hosts in spite of extensive genetic variation among hosts and among parasites. Instead, there was strong isolation by distance among the endoparasitic nematodes, indicating that geography plays a more important role than host‐related adaptations in driving parasite diversification in this system. The accumulating evidence for lack of codiversification between parasites and their hosts at macroevolutionary scales contrasts with the overwhelming evidence for coevolution within populations, and calls for studies linking micro‐ versus macroevolutionary dynamics in host–parasite interactions.  相似文献   

7.
    
Mistletoes are hemiparasites that access water and nutrients from their hosts. Previous studies have suggested that host genera with high nitrogen are parasitized by more mistletoe species but these studies failed to take into account phylogenetic relationships among host genera. Our main question was whether more mistletoe species parasitize host genera with high nitrogen content when phylogenetic relationships were controlled. We also asked whether patterns in mistletoe parasitism were related to host geographic range size, host fruit type and host spinescence. Overall, we found no difference between conventional and phylogenetically controlled analyses. We also found no evidence for higher mistletoe species richness on host genera with high nitrogen, fleshy fruits or spinescence. However, similar to findings for animal parasites, we found that host genera with large geographic range had higher mistletoe species richness. This is likely because a greater number of mistletoe species will encounter hosts that have a greater geographic distribution. Mistletoe studies frequently assume that nitrogen status drives patterns in mistletoe parasitism but our study suggests that macroecological patterns in mistletoe assemblages are primarily determined by host geographic range.  相似文献   

8.
Resistance and tolerance are considered to be different plant strategies against disease. While resistance traits prevent hosts becoming parasitized or reduce the extent of parasitism, tolerance traits reduce the fitness-impact of parasitism on infected hosts. Theoretical considerations predict that in some circumstances mutual redundancy will give hosts with either high resistance or high tolerance a fitness advantage over hosts that exhibit both of these traits together. However, empirical evidence has provided mixed results. In this paper, I describe the pattern of phenotypic selection imposed by the holoparasitic mistletoe Tristerix aphyllus upon resistance (spine length) and tolerance (branching) traits in the cactus Echinopsis chilensis. Results indicate that branching was an efficient compensatory mechanism, reducing 75.5% of the fitness-impact attributable to parasitism. Even though both traits showed a negative correlation, as expected from the presence of allocation costs between strategies, no correlational selection coefficient was significant indicating that selection did not favor alternative combinations of traits. Consequently, I did not find evidence for selection promoting mutually exclusive defense strategies against the mistletoe, which suggests that tolerance and resistance traits may coexist stably in populations of E. chilensis.  相似文献   

9.
    
Parasitism is considered a major selective force in natural host populations. Infections can decrease host condition and vigour, and potentially influence, for example, host population dynamics and behavior such as mate choice. We studied parasite infections of two common marine fish species, the sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) and the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), in the brackish water Northern Baltic Sea. We were particularly interested in the occurrence of parasite taxa located in central sensory organs, such as eyes, potentially affecting fish behavior and mate choice. We found that both fish species harbored parasite communities dominated by taxa transmitted to fish through aquatic invertebrates. Infections also showed significant spatiotemporal variation. Trematodes in the eyes were very few in some locations, but infection levels were higher among females than males, suggesting differences in exposure or resistance between the sexes. To test between these hypotheses, we experimentally exposed male and female sand gobies to infection with the eye fluke Diplostomum pseudospathaceum. These trials showed that the fish became readily infected and females had higher parasite numbers, supporting higher susceptibility of females. Eye fluke infections also caused high cataract intensities among the fish in the wild. Our results demonstrate the potential of these parasites to influence host condition and visual abilities, which may have significant implications for survival and mate choice in goby populations.  相似文献   

10.
    
1. Dispersal is essential for locating mates, new resources, and to escape unfavourable conditions. Parasitism can impact a host's ability to perform energetically demanding activities such as long‐distance flight, with important consequences for gene flow and meta‐population dynamics. 2. Ectoparasites, in particular, can adversely affect host flight performance by diminishing flight aerodynamics and/or by inflicting physiological damage while feeding on host tissue. 3. Experimental flight assays were conducted using two fruit fly‐mite systems: Drosophila nigrospiracula (Patterson and Wheeler) – Macrocheles subbadius (Berlese) and D. hydei (Sturtevan) – M. muscaedomesticae (Scopoli). Flies that are burdened by mites are expected to exhibit lower flight endurance compared to uninfected flies. 4. The results show that the presence of mites (attached) significantly decreased flight endurance by 57% and 78% compared to uninfected D. nigrospiracula and D. hydei, respectively. The physiological damage caused by M. subbadius was revealed through a 53% decline in flight time among previously infected flies (mites removed just prior to flight assay). Surprisingly, the presumably phoretic M. muscaedomesticae also caused a 62% reduction in flight endurance among previously infected D. hydei. 5. These results suggest a strong deleterious effect of ectoparasitic mites on host flight performance, mediated by a reduction in flight aerodynamics and damage to host physiology. Adverse effects on host flight and/or dispersal may have broad implications for gene flow, population genetic structure, and local adaptation in both host and parasite meta‐populations.  相似文献   

11.
    
Genetic differentiation may exist among sympatric populations of a species due to long‐term associations with alternative hosts (i.e. host‐associated differentiation). While host‐associated differentiation has been documented in several phytophagus insects, there are far fewer cases known in animal parasites. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius, a wingless insect, represents a potential model organism for elucidating the processes involved in host‐associated differentiation in animal parasites with relatively limited mobility. In conjunction with the expansion of modern humans from Africa into Eurasia, it has been speculated that bed bugs extended their host range from bats to humans in their shared cave domiciles throughout Eurasia. C. lectularius that associate with humans have a cosmopolitan distribution, whereas those associated with bats occur across Europe, often in human‐built structures. We assessed genetic structure and gene flow within and among populations collected in association with each host using mtDNA, microsatellite loci and knock‐down resistance gene variants. Both nuclear and mitochondrial data support a lack of significant contemporary gene flow between host‐specific populations. Within locations human‐associated bed bug populations exhibit limited genetic diversity and elevated levels of inbreeding, likely due to human‐mediated movement, infrequent additional introduction events per infestation, and pest control. In contrast, populations within bat roosts exhibit higher genetic diversity and lower levels of relatedness, suggesting populations are stable with temporal fluctuations due to host dispersal and bug mortality. In concert with previously published evidence of morphological and behavioural differentiation, the genetic data presented here suggest C. lectularius is currently undergoing lineage divergence through host association.  相似文献   

12.
    
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13.
    
Hosts can utilize different types of defense against the effects of parasitism, including avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. Typically, there is tremendous heterogeneity among hosts in these defense mechanisms that may be rooted in the costs associated with defense and lead to trade‐offs with other life‐history traits. Trade‐offs may also exist between the defense mechanisms, but the relationships between avoidance, resistance, and tolerance have rarely been studied. Here, we assessed these three defense traits under common garden conditions in a natural host–parasite system, the trematode eye‐fluke Diplostomum pseudospathaceum and its second intermediate fish host. We looked at host individuals originating from four genetically distinct populations of two closely related salmonid species (Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar and sea trout, Salmo trutta trutta) to estimate the magnitude of variation in these defense traits and the relationships among them. We show species‐specific variation in resistance and tolerance and population‐specific variation in resistance. Further, we demonstrate evidence for a trade‐off between resistance and tolerance. Our results suggest that the variation in host defense can at least partly result from a compromise between different interacting defense traits, the relative importance of which is likely to be shaped by environmental components. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of considering different components of the host defense system when making predictions on the outcome of host–parasite interactions.  相似文献   

14.
    
While the host immune system is often considered the most important physiological mechanism against parasites, precontact mechanisms determining exposure to parasites may also affect infection dynamics. For instance, chemical cues released by hosts can attract parasite transmission stages. We used the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis and its trematode parasite Echinoparyphium aconiatum to examine the role of host chemical attractiveness, physiological condition, and immune function in determining its susceptibility to infection. We assessed host attractiveness through parasite chemo‐orientation behavior; physiological condition through host body size, food consumption, and respiration rate; and immune function through two immune parameters (phenoloxidase‐like and antibacterial activity of hemolymph) at an individual level. We found that, although snails showed high variation in chemical attractiveness to E. aconiatum cercariae, this did not determine their overall susceptibility to infection. This was because large body size increased attractiveness, but also increased metabolic activity that reduced overall susceptibility. High metabolic rate indicates fast physiological processes, including immune activity. The examined immune traits, however, showed no association with susceptibility to infection. Our results indicate that postcontact mechanisms were more likely to determine snail susceptibility to infection than variation in attractiveness to parasites. These may include localized immune responses in the target tissue of the parasite. The lack of a relationship between food consumption and attractiveness to parasites contradicts earlier findings that show food deprivation reducing snail attractiveness. This suggests that, although variation in resource level over space and time can alter infection dynamics, variation in chemical attractiveness may not contribute to parasite‐induced fitness variation within populations when individuals experience similar environmental conditions.  相似文献   

15.
    
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.  相似文献   

16.
    
1. Temperature plays a fundamental role in the dynamics of host–pathogen interactions. Wolbachia is an endosymbiotic bacteria that infects about 40% of arthropod species, which can affect host behaviour and reproduction. Yet, the effect of Wolbachia on host thermoregulatory behaviour is largely unknown, despite its use in disease vector control programs in thermally variable environments. 2. Here, a thermal gradient was used to test whether Drosophila melanogaster infected with Wolbachia strain wMelCS exhibited different temperature preferences (Tp) to uninfected flies. 3. It was found that Wolbachia‐infected flies preferred a cooler mean temperature (Tp = 25.06 ± 0.25 °C) than uninfected flies (Tp = 25.78 ± 0.24 °C). 4. This finding suggests that Wolbachia‐infected hosts might seek out cooler microclimates to reduce exposure to, and lessen the consequences of, high temperatures. This finding has generated hypotheses that will be fruitful in areas of research for exploring the mechanisms by which the change in Tp occurs in this complex and significant host–pathogen–environment interaction.  相似文献   

17.
    
Gliding motility and cell traversal by the Plasmodium ookinete and sporozoite invasive stages allow penetration of cellular barriers to establish infection of the mosquito vector and mammalian host, respectively. Motility and traversal are not observed in red cell infectious merozoites, and we have previously classified genes that are expressed in sporozoites but not merozoites (S genes) in order to identify proteins involved in these processes. The S4 gene has been described as criticaly involved in Cell Traversal for Ookinetes and Sporozoites (CelTOS), yet knockout parasites (s4/celtos¯) do not generate robust salivary gland sporozoite numbers, precluding a thorough analysis of S4/CelTOS function during host infection. We show here that a failure of oocysts to develop or survive in the midgut contributes to the poor mosquito infection by Plasmodium yoelii (Py) s4/celtos¯ rodent malaria parasites. We rescued this phenotype by expressing S4/CelTOS under the ookinete‐specific circumsporozoite protein and thrombospondin‐related anonymous protein‐related protein (CTRP) promoter (S4/CelTOSCTRP), generating robust numbers of salivary gland sporozoites lacking S4/CelTOS that were suitable for phenotypic analysis. Py S4/CelTOSCTRP sporozoites showed reduced infectivity in BALB/c mice when compared to wild‐type sporozoites, although they appeared more infectious than sporozoites deficient in the related traversal protein PLP1/SPECT2 (Py plp1/spect2¯). Using in vitro assays, we substantiate the role of S4/CelTOS in sporozoite cell traversal, but also uncover a previously unappreciated role for this protein for sporozoite gliding motility.  相似文献   

18.
Many biological networks can maintain their function against single gene loss. However, the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for such robustness remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that antagonistic host–parasite interactions can act as a selective pressure driving the emergence of robustness against gene loss. Using a model of host signaling networks and simulating their coevolution with parasites that interfere with network function, we find that networks evolve both redundancy and specific architectures that allow them to maintain their response despite removal of proteins. We show that when the parasite pressure is removed, subsequent evolution can lead to loss of redundancy while architecture‐based robustness is retained. Contrary to intuition, increased parasite virulence hampers evolution of robustness by limiting the generation of population level diversity in the host. However, when robustness emerges under high virulence, it tends to be stronger. These findings predict an increased presence of robustness mechanisms in biological networks operating under parasite interference. Conversely, the presence of such mechanisms could indicate current or past parasite interference.  相似文献   

19.
    
It was suggested that parasite infections become more severe with rising temperature, as expected during global warming. In ectothermic systems, the growth of a parasite and therefore its reproductive capacity is expected to increase with temperature. However, the outcome of the interaction depends on the temperature optima of both host and parasite. Here we used experimental infections of three‐spined stickleback fish Gasterosteus aculeatus with its specific tapeworm parasite Schistocephalus solidus to investigate in detail the temperature optima for both host and parasite. We analyzed the fitness consequences thereof, focusing on growth and immunity of the host, and growth and offspring production of the parasite as fitness correlates. We checked for potential differences among populations, using the offspring of hosts and parasites derived from four study sites in Iceland, Germany and Spain that differ in average annual temperature ranging between 4.8°C and 18.4°C. We found differences in temperature optima of host and parasites that were quite consistent across the populations: while sticklebacks grew faster and had higher immune activity at low temperatures, the parasites did not even grow fast enough to reach sexual maturity in these conditions. By contrast, with increasing temperatures, parasite growth, egg production and offspring hatching increased strongly while host immunity and growth were impaired. Our results show that divergent temperature optima of hosts and parasites can have drastic fitness consequences and support the expectation that some parasites will benefit from global warming.  相似文献   

20.
    
  1. Introduction of an exotic species has the potential to alter interactions between fish and bivalves; yet our knowledge in this field is limited, not least by lack of studies involving fish early life stages (ELS).
  2. Here, for the first time, we examine glochidial infection of fish ELS by native and exotic bivalves in a system recently colonised by two exotic gobiid species (round goby Neogobius melanostomus, tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris) and the exotic Chinese pond mussel Anodonta woodiana.
  3. The ELS of native fish were only rarely infected by native glochidia. By contrast, exotic fish displayed significantly higher native glochidia prevalence and mean intensity of infection than native fish (17 versus 2% and 3.3 versus 1.4 respectively), inferring potential for a parasite spillback/dilution effect. Exotic fish also displayed a higher parasitic load for exotic glochidia, inferring potential for invasional meltdown. Compared to native fish, presence of gobiids increased the total number of glochidia transported downstream on drifting fish by approximately 900%.
  4. We show that gobiid ELS are a novel, numerous and ‘attractive’ resource for unionid glochidia. As such, unionids could negatively affect gobiid recruitment through infection‐related mortality of gobiid ELS and/or reinforce downstream unionid populations through transport on drifting gobiid ELS. These implications go beyond what is suggested in studies of older life stages, thereby stressing the importance of an holistic ontogenetic approach in ecological studies.
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