Avian Malaria Parasites Share Congeneric Mosquito Vectors

Kimura, Mari; Darbro, Jonathan M.; Harrington, Laura C.

doi:10.1645/ge-2060.1

Cited by 116 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Previous research has demonstrated that these Culex species are known avian malaria vectors [25] and are infected with many of the same avian Plasmodium lineages [36]. Little information exists on the vectorial capacity of A. vexans.…”

Section: (C) Resolving Parasite -Bird and Parasite-mosquito Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host compatibility rather than vector–host-encounter rate determines the host range of avian Plasmodium parasites

2013

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Blood-feeding arthropod vectors are responsible for transmitting many parasites between vertebrate hosts. While arthropod vectors often feed on limited subsets of potential host species, little is known about the extent to which this influences the distribution of vector-borne parasites in some systems. Here, we test the hypothesis that different vector species structure parasitehost relationships by restricting access of certain parasites to a subset of available hosts. Specifically, we investigate how the feeding patterns of Culex mosquito vectors relate to distributions of avian malaria parasites among hosts in suburban Chicago, IL, USA. We show that Plasmodium lineages, defined by cytochrome b haplotypes, are heterogeneously distributed across avian hosts. However, the feeding patterns of the dominant vectors (Culex restuans and Culex pipiens) are similar across these hosts, and do not explain the distributions of Plasmodium parasites. Phylogenetic similarity of avian hosts predicts similarity in their Plasmodium parasites. This effect was driven primarily by the general association of Plasmodium parasites with particular host superfamilies. Our results suggest that a mosquito-imposed encounter rate does not limit the distribution of avian Plasmodium parasites across hosts. This implies that compatibility between parasites and their avian hosts structure Plasmodium host range.

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Section: (C) Resolving Parasite -Bird and Parasite-mosquito Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host compatibility rather than vector–host-encounter rate determines the host range of avian Plasmodium parasites

2013

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“…This new animal model associates the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum (SGS1 lineage) and its natural vector, the mosquito Culex pipiens [13,14]. We carried out two different experiments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasmodium infection decreases fecundity and increases survival of mosquitoes

et al. 2012

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Long-lived mosquitoes maximize the chances of Plasmodium transmission. Yet, in spite of decades of research, the effect of Plasmodium parasites on mosquito longevity remains highly controversial. On the one hand, many studies report shorter lifespans in infected mosquitoes. On the other hand, parallel (but separate) studies show that Plasmodium reduces fecundity and imply that this is an adaptive strategy of the parasite aimed at redirecting resources towards longevity. No study till date has, however, investigated fecundity and longevity in the same individuals to see whether this prediction holds. In this study, we follow for both fecundity and longevity in Plasmodium-infected and uninfected mosquitoes using a novel, albeit natural, experimental system. We also explore whether the genetic variations that arise through the evolution of insecticide resistance modulate the effect of Plasmodium on these two life-history traits. We show that (i) a reduction in fecundity in Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes is accompanied by an increase in longevity; (ii) this increase in longevity arises through a trade-off between reproduction and survival; and (iii) in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, the slope of this trade-off is steeper when the mosquito is infected by Plasmodium (cost of insecticide resistance).

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“…Specialized associations between specific parasites and vectors (20)(21)(22) may drive such heterogeneity, although a recent analysis suggests that parasitehost compatibility is also important (23), and local coevolutionary relationships between parasites and their hosts likely influence geographic distributions of both host and parasite populations (11,14,15). However, most regional studies of these parasites have focused on individual host species (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”

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confidence: 99%

Local host specialization, host-switching, and dispersal shape the regional distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites

Ellis

Collins

Medeiros

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The drivers of regional parasite distributions are poorly understood, especially in comparison with those of free-living species. For vector-transmitted parasites, in particular, distributions might be influenced by host-switching and by parasite dispersal with primary hosts and vectors. We surveyed haemosporidian blood parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) of small land birds in eastern North America to characterize a regional parasite community. Distributions of parasite populations generally reflected distributions of their hosts across the region. However, when the interdependence between hosts and parasites was controlled statistically, local host assemblages were related to regional climatic gradients, but parasite assemblages were not. Moreover, because parasite assemblage similarity does not decrease with distance when controlling for host assemblages and climate, parasites evidently disperse readily within the distributions of their hosts. The degree of specialization on hosts varied in some parasite lineages over short periods and small geographic distances independently of the diversity of available hosts and potentially competing parasite lineages. Nonrandom spatial turnover was apparent in parasite lineages infecting one host species that was well-sampled within a single year across its range, plausibly reflecting localized adaptations of hosts and parasites. Overall, populations of avian hosts generally determine the geographic distributions of haemosporidian parasites. However, parasites are not dispersal-limited within their host distributions, and they may switch hosts readily.avian malaria | community assembly | emerging infectious disease | Haemosporida | parasite communities A regional community can be thought of as a set of species whose distributions partially overlap within a large geographic area (1, 2). The structure of the regional community (i.e., the relative abundances of species across space and the degree to which populations cooccur) is governed by local (e.g., interspecific competition) and regional (e.g., species diversification and dispersal) processes (3). Although regional communities include all species, parasites and pathogens are rarely considered integral community members (4). Indeed, impacts of parasites on community structure are frequently associated with epidemicsoften following introductions to nonnative regions-that have driven naïve hosts to extinction or near extinction (5-7). However, parasites likely play a critical role in shaping regional community structure. Parasites can comprise a large proportion of the community biomass (8), form the majority of links in a community food web (9), and influence regional diversity by variously accelerating (10) or slowing (11) host diversification.Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the processes influencing the regional community structure of both parasites and their hosts. Parasite populations are integrated into community studies with difficulty, partly because these populations are distributed across multiple...

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Avian Malaria Parasites Share Congeneric Mosquito Vectors

Cited by 116 publications

References 60 publications

Host compatibility rather than vector–host-encounter rate determines the host range of avian Plasmodium parasites

Host compatibility rather than vector–host-encounter rate determines the host range of avian Plasmodium parasites

Plasmodium infection decreases fecundity and increases survival of mosquitoes

Local host specialization, host-switching, and dispersal shape the regional distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites

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