A molecular revision of the taxonomic status of mermithid parasites of black flies from Quebec (Canada)

St-Onge, Mylène; Larue, Bernard; Charpentier, G.

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2008.04.001

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Camino (1987) accepts as valid approximately 12 species of the genus, without listing them, and describes three new species (Camino 1987, 1994). Species of Isomermis have been reported from Europe (Coman 1961, Rubzov 1968, Rubzov and Doby 1970, Katyukha and Lukhovoz 2008), North America (Welch 1962, St-Onge and Charpentier 2008, St-Onge et al 2008), Central (Poinar and Takaoka 1979, 1981) and South America (Camino 1987, 1994, Ginarte et al 2003), Africa (Rubzov 1972, Mondet et al 1977, Maduabum and Iwuala 1990, Crainey et al 2009) and Asia (Poinar and Takaoka 1986). The host range of the genus includes different species of Simuliidae (Crosskey and Poinar 2002) and rarely Chironomidae (Rubzov 1968, Camino 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species of at least 15 different orders of insects are among the hosts of the family (Nickle 1972). Mermithids occurring in black flies (Diptera, Simuliidae) are an insufficiently studied group with problematic taxonomy (Molloy 1981, St-Onge et al 2008). Descriptions of many species are not satisfactory and many described species are considered as species inquirendae (Curran and Hominick 1981, Poinar and Takaoka 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, morphology-based taxonomy requires significant time and effort. Recently, molecular methods have been introduced in the taxonomy of the group (St-Onge et al 2008, Crainey et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mermithid species Isomermis lairdi (Nematoda, Mermithidae), previously only known in Africa, found in Europe

Gradinarov¹

2014

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The present work contributs to the knowledge on the aquatic mermithids (Nematoda, Mermithidae) occurring in black flies – an insufficiently studied group of parasitic nematodes. Isomermis lairdi Mondet, Poinar & Bernadou, 1977, described from larvae of Simulium damnosum Theobald, 1903 in Western Africa, is reported to occur in Bulgaria. The species was isolated from larvae of Simulium ornatum Meigen, 1818 in a local population of simuliids in a mountain stream near Jeleznitsa Village, Sofia district. Postparasitic juveniles of mermithids were obtained from the hosts and reared to the adult stage. The species was identified by morphological and morphometrical characters of postparasitic juveniles, and of male and female individuals. In the summer of 2012 a relatively high rate of mermithid infection in a local host population was detected (prevalence up to 44.1%). In August of the next year host abundance had considerably declined and other simuliid species, Simulium variegatum Meigen, 1818 and Simulium reptans (Linnaeus, 1758), predominated in the investigated locality. In West Africa, Isomermis lairdi is considered to be a potential biological agent for reducing the population density of the Simulium damnosum complex – the main vector of human onchocerciasis. In Europe, species of the Simulium ornatum complex are among the vectors of onchocerciasis of cattle and deer. The mermithids presumably play a certain role in the epidemiology of these diseases. A brief discussion on the taxonomy of the genus Isomermis Coman, 1953, and of the feasibility of molecular methods in mermithid taxonomy is provided. The species Isomermis lairdi is reported for the first time from Europe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mermithid species Isomermis lairdi (Nematoda, Mermithidae), previously only known in Africa, found in Europe

Gradinarov¹

2014

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“…If these mermithid specimens were the same nematode species in all three mosquito species, this would indicate that the mermithid has a broad host range within the Anopheles genera. In the future, additional sequencing will be necessary to determine if the Senegalese mermithids from all infected Anopheles species are the same mermithid species or possibly distinct molecular variants as was observed with Mesomermis flumenalis in multiple Simulium species [42]. Anopheles gambiae s.s., An.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mermithid nematodes found in adult Anopheles from southeastern Senegal

et al. 2012

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BackgroundOver two dozen mermithid nematodes have been described parasitizing mosquitoes worldwide, however, only two species were found in Africa. Mermithid nematodes kill their mosquito host upon emergence, which suggests that they could be developed as biological control agents of mosquitoes. Both Romanomermis culicivorax and Romanomermis iyengari have been reared for mass release to control numerous Anopheles species vector populations, and in one instance this may have led to reduced malaria prevalence in a human population.MethodsAnopheles mosquitoes were collected during a malaria study in southeastern Senegal. Two different adult blood fed mosquitoes had a single mermithid nematode emerge from their anus while they were being held post-capture. Primers from the 18 S rDNA were developed to sequence nematode DNA and screen mosquitoes for mermithid DNA. 18 S rDNA from the Senegalese mermithid and other mermithid entries in GenBank were used to create a Maximum Parsimony tree of the Mermithidae family.ResultsThe mermithid was present in 1.8% (10/551) of the sampled adult Anopheles species in our study area. The mermithid was found in An. gambiae s.s., An. funestus, and An. rufipes from the villages of Ndebou, Boundoucondi, and Damboucoye. Maximum parsimony analysis confirmed that the nematode parasites found in Anopheles were indeed mermithid parasites, and of the mermithid sequences available in GenBank, they are most closely related to Strelkovimermis spiculatus.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first report of mermithids from adult Anopheles mosquitoes in Senegal. The mermithid appears to infect Anopheles mosquitoes that develop in diverse larval habitats. Although maximum parsimony analysis determined the mermithid was closely related to Strelkovimermis spiculatus, several characteristics of the mermithid were more similar to the Empidomermis genus. Future mermithid isolations will hopefully allow: formal taxonomic identification, laboratory colonization, determination of life history traits and species specificity, and characterize its usefulness as a biological control agent.

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“…Could extremely slow evolutionary rates of mtDNA somehow be characteristic of mermithids? Given the dearth of studies investigating intraspecific variation of mtDNA in mermithids, it is difficult to draw comparisons (St-Onge, LaRue & Charpentier, 2008;Belaich et al, 2015). St-Onge et al (2008) identified four cryptic species within Mesomermis flumenalis, a mermithid parasitizing blackflies in North America.…”

Section: Thaumamermis Zealandica: Sequence Invariancementioning

confidence: 99%

Life at the beach: comparative phylogeography of a sandhopper and its nematode parasite reveals extreme lack of parasite mtDNA variation

Tobias

Jorge

Poulin

2017

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Molecular genetics has proven to be an essential tool for studying the ecology, evolution and epidemiology of parasitic nematodes. However, research effort across nematode taxa has not been equal and biased towards nematodes parasitic in vertebrates. We characterize the evolutionary genetics of the mermithid nematode Thaumamermis zealandica Poinar, 2002 and its host, the sandhopper Bellorchestia quoyana (Milne-Edwards, 1840) (Talitridae: Amphipoda), across sandy beaches of New Zealand's South Island. We test the hypothesis that parasite population genetic structure mirrors that of its host. Sandhoppers and their parasites were sampled at 13 locations along the island's southeastern coast. Sequencing of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) from B. quoyana reveals a regional pattern of population structure that suggests a northward pattern of dispersal. Surprisingly, no population structure was observed for T. zealandica. In fact, sequencing of three commonly used markers revealed no intraspecific parasite variation. This result suggests that mermithid mtDNA may evolve at an extraordinarily slow pace, perhaps as a result of extensive and frequent changes in gene order and mitochondrial genome length. Furthermore, a mermithid phylogeny based on sequences of the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes suggests that a systematic revision of the family is necessary. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: Bellorchestia quoyana -comparative population genetics -host-parasite phylogeography -Mermithidae -New Zealand -Thaumamermis zealandica. SANDHOPPER AND MERMITHID CO-PHYLOGEOGRAPHY 127 Bandelt HJ, Forster P, Röhl A. 1999. Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies. Molecular Biology and Evolution 16: 37-48. Becnel JJ, Johnson MA. 1998. Pathogenicity tests on nine mosquito species and several non-target organisms with Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Nemata Mermithidae). Journal of Nematology 30: 411-414. Belaich MN, Buldain D, Ghiringhelli PD, Hyman B, Micieli MV, Achinelly MF. 2015. Nucleotide sequence differentiation of Argentine isolates of the mosquito parasitic nematode Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Nematoda: Mermithidae). Journal of Vector Ecology 40: 415-418. Bik HM, Thomas WK, Lunt DH, Lambshead PJD. 2010.Low endemism, continued deep-shallow interchanges, and evidence for cosmopolitan distributions in free-living marine nematodes (order Enoplida). BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 1.

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A molecular revision of the taxonomic status of mermithid parasites of black flies from Quebec (Canada)

Cited by 20 publications

References 18 publications

The mermithid species Isomermis lairdi (Nematoda, Mermithidae), previously only known in Africa, found in Europe

The mermithid species Isomermis lairdi (Nematoda, Mermithidae), previously only known in Africa, found in Europe

Mermithid nematodes found in adult Anopheles from southeastern Senegal

Life at the beach: comparative phylogeography of a sandhopper and its nematode parasite reveals extreme lack of parasite mtDNA variation

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