Celebrity with a neglected taxonomy: molecular systematics of the medicinal leech (genus Hirudo)

Trontelj, Peter; Utevsky, Serge

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.012

Cited by 104 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…and Sket andŠapkarev (1992) had already suspected the existence of at least two undescribed species. The occurrence of cryptic species is not unusual in leeches as demonstrated recently for the medicinal leeches (Trontelj and Utevsky, 2005;Siddall et al, 2007). Overall, the total number of species within the Ohrid Dina flock remains unknown, largely because of a conflict between morphological and molecular data.…”

Section: Phylogenetic Position Of the Ohrid Dina Flockmentioning

confidence: 76%

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

et al. 2010

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Abstract. Ancient Lake Ohrid on the Balkan Peninsula is considered to be the oldest ancient lake in Europe with a suggested Plio-/Pleistocene age. Its exact geological age, however, remains unknown. Therefore, molecular clock data of Lake Ohrid biota may serve as an independent constraint of available geological data, and may thus help to refine age estimates. Such evolutionary data may also help unravel potential biotic and abiotic factors that promote speciation events.Here, mitochondrial sequencing data of one of the largest groups of endemic taxa in the Ohrid watershed, the leech genus Dina, is used to test whether it represents an ancient lake species flock, to study the role of potential horizontal and vertical barriers in the watershed for evolutionary events, to estimate the onset of diversification in this group based on molecular clock analyses, and to compare this data with data from other endemic species for providing an approximate time frame for the origin of Lake Ohrid.Based on the criteria speciosity, monophyly and endemicity, it can be concluded that Dina spp. from the Ohrid watershed, indeed, represents an ancient lake species flock. Lineage sorting of its species, however, does not seem to be complete and/or hybridization may occur. Analyses of population structures of Dina spp. in the Ohrid watershed indicate a horizontal zonation of haplotypes from spring and lake populations, corroborating the role of lake-side springs, particularly the southern feeder springs, for evolutionary processes in endemic Ohrid taxa. Vertical differentiation of lake Correspondence to: T. Wilke (tom.wilke@allzool.bio.uni-giessen.de) taxa, however, appears to be limited, though differences between populations from the littoral and the profundal are apparent. Molecular clock analyses indicate that the most recent common ancestor of extant species of this flock is approximately 1.99 ± 0.83 million years (Ma) old, whereas the split of the Ohrid Dina flock from a potential sister taxon outside the lake is estimated at 8.30 ± 3.60 Ma. Comparisons with other groups of endemic Ohrid species indicated that in all cases, diversification within the watershed started ≤2 Ma ago. Thus, this estimate may provide information on a minimum age for the origin of Lake Ohrid. Maximum ages are less consistent and generally less reliable. But cautiously, a maximum age of 3 Ma is suggested. Interestingly, this time frame of approximately 2-3 Ma ago for the origin of Lake Ohrid, generated based on genetic data, well fits the time frame most often used in the literature by geologists.

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Section: Phylogenetic Position Of the Ohrid Dina Flockmentioning

confidence: 76%

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

et al. 2010

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“…These can be reliably assigned to the species H. verbana, H. medicinalis, and H. orientalis, respectively. Even in work published after 1999 and 2004, when the independent status of H. verbana was first formally re-established (Nesemann and Neubert, 1999), and later corroborated by molecular systematic approaches (Trontelj et al, 2004;Trontelj and Utevsky, 2005), many authors did not take into account the new systematics and continued to use a single name for all medicinal leeches found in the region. The data were treated according to their taxonomic reliability, ranked by probability classes as proposed by Frey (2006), and slightly changed for the purposes of this research (Table 1).…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and status of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) in the Western Palaearctic: anthropogenic, ecological, or historical effects?

Utevsky

Zagmajster

Atemasov

et al. 2010

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Distribution and status of medicinal leeches were re-considered in the light of the new taxonomy recognizing four Western Palaearctic species: Hirudo medicinalis, Hirudo verbana, Hirudo orientalis and Hirudo troctina.2. Recent records and new data obtained on expeditions to Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Western Balkans were mapped to obtain an up-to-date overview of the distribution.3. Three hypotheses explaining the current ranges of all Hirudo species were tested. The ecological hypothesis, suggesting a strong impact of large-scale environmental factors, received the highest support, while anthropogenic influence was minimal, and no historical patterns of refugia and colonization were detected.4. Mapped localities of all Hirudo species show extensive, belt-shaped ranges extending from east to west. H. medicinalis is distributed from Britain and southern Norway to the southern Urals and probably as far as the Altai Mountains, occupying the deciduous arboreal zone. H. verbana has been recorded from Switzerland and Italy to Turkey and Uzbekistan, which largely corresponds to the Mediterranean and sub-boreal steppe zone. H. orientalis is associated with mountainous areas in the sub-boreal eremial zone and occurs in Transcaucasian countries, Iran and Central Asia. H. troctina has been found in north-western Africa and Spain in the Mediterranean zone.5. Based on the data gathered, and considering real and potential threats, global IUCN category Near Threatened is proposed for H. medicinalis, H. verbana, and H. orientalis, while H. troctina can only be assigned to category Data Deficient.

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“…The medicinal leech is a hematophagous parasite native to freshwater environments throughout Europe (38,41) and is increasingly being used postoperatively in modern medicine. Recent molecular studies indicate that H. verbana is a distinct but closely related species of Hirudo medicinalis (41) and that the animals used in our previous studies, as well as animals sold for medical applications, are now considered to be H. verbana (4,15,20). The digestive tract of the leech consists of two major compartments, the crop and the intestinum.…”

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confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Population Dynamics of a Naturally Occurring Two-Species Microbial Community inside the Digestive Tract of the Medicinal Leech

Kikuchi

Graf

2007

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is one of the simplest naturally occurring models for digestive-tract symbioses, where only two bacterial species, Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria (␥-Proteobacteria) and a Rikenella-like bacterium (Bacteroidetes), colonize the crop, the largest compartment of the leech digestive tract. In this study, we investigated spatial and temporal changes of the localization and microcolony structure of the native symbionts in the crop, after ingestion of a sterile blood meal, by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The population dynamics differed between the two symbiotic bacteria. A. veronii was detected mainly as individual cells inside the intraluminal fluid (ILF) during 14 days after feeding (daf) unless it was found in association with Rikenella microcolonies. The Rikenella-like bacteria were observed not only inside the ILF but also in association with the luminal surface of the crop epithelium. The sizes of Rikenella microcolonies changed dynamically through the 14-day period. From 3 daf onward, mixed microcolonies containing both species were frequently observed, with cells of both species tightly associating with each other. The sizes of the mixed microcolonies were consistently larger than the size of either single-species microcolony, suggesting a synergistic interaction of the symbionts. Lectin staining with succinylated wheat germ agglutinin revealed that the planktonic microcolonies present in the ILF were embedded in a polysaccharide matrix containing N-acetylglucosamine. The simplicity, symbiont-symbiont interaction, and mixed microcolonies of this naturally occurring, digestive-tract symbiosis lay the foundation for understanding the more complex communities residing in most animals.Many animals, including humans, possess a diverse bacterial community in their digestive tract. For example, the human intestine contains between 500 and 1,000 species of bacteria (10, 43), and diverse microbiota have been isolated from the digestive tracts of many other animals, including mice (26), zebra fish (35), and termites (19,44). Simpler communities, composed of 7 to 20 bacterial species, are found in some insects, such as gypsy moths (5) and mosquitoes (27). Investigators using experimentally simplified gut communities, such as germfree mice inoculated only with Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, revealed that the resident microbes play pivotal roles throughout the host life, including the provision of essential nutrients (3, 39), energy balance (26), gut development (40), and induction of the immune system (32, 34). Despite these amazing discoveries about host-symbiont interactions, it remains relatively unclear how symbiotic bacteria interact with each other. The interaction between different species of microorganisms probably plays an important role in most digestive-tract communities yet is difficult to investigate because of the complexity of most digestive-tract communities and the lack of a natural model.The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana (Hirudinia, Hirudinidae), is one of the si...

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Celebrity with a neglected taxonomy: molecular systematics of the medicinal leech (genus Hirudo)

Cited by 104 publications

References 21 publications

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

Distribution and status of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) in the Western Palaearctic: anthropogenic, ecological, or historical effects?

Spatial and Temporal Population Dynamics of a Naturally Occurring Two-Species Microbial Community inside the Digestive Tract of the Medicinal Leech

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Celebrity with a neglected taxonomy: molecular systematics of the medicinal leech (genus Hirudo)

Cited by 104 publications

References 21 publications

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus &lt;i&gt;Dina&lt;/i&gt; (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus &lt;i&gt;Dina&lt;/i&gt; (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

Distribution and status of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) in the Western Palaearctic: anthropogenic, ecological, or historical effects?

Spatial and Temporal Population Dynamics of a Naturally Occurring Two-Species Microbial Community inside the Digestive Tract of the Medicinal Leech

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Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid

Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock: the leech genus <i>Dina</i> (Hirudinea: Erpobdellidae) in Lake Ohrid