Hymenolepis diminuta

Rajeev, Sruthi; Li, Shuhua; McKay, Derek M.

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2022.07.002

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The first is the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta (order Cyclophyllidea). This cestode has a complex, 2-host life cycle (Rajeev et al ., 2022). Adult worms live in the intestine of the definitive host, a role that in nature can be played by a variety of rodents across the Northern hemisphere (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model worms: knowledge gains and risks associated with the use of model species in parasitological research

Poulin

2023

Parasitology

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Model parasite species, whose entire life cycle can be completed in the laboratory and maintained for multiple generations, have played a fundamental role in our understanding of host–parasite interactions. Yet, keeping parasites in laboratory conditions may expose them to unnatural evolutionary pressures, and using laboratory cultures for research is therefore not without limitations. Using 2 widely-used model helminth species, the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta and the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus, I illustrate the caution needed when interpreting experimental results on model species. I first review more than 1200 experimental studies published on these species in the past 4 decades, to determine which research areas they have contributed to. This is followed by an examination of the institutional laboratory cultures that have provided the parasites used in these studies. Some of these have persisted for decades and accounted for a substantial proportion of published studies, whereas others have been short-lived. Using information provided by the curators of active cultures, I summarize data on their origins and maintenance conditions. Finally, I discuss how laboratory cultures may have been subject to the influence of evolutionary genetic processes, such as founder effects, genetic drift and inbreeding. I also address the possibility that serial passage through laboratory hosts across multiple generations has exerted artificial selection on several parasite traits, resulting in genetic and phenotypic divergence among laboratory cultures, and between these cultures and natural parasite populations. I conclude with recommendations for the continued usage of laboratory helminth cultures aimed at maximizing their important contribution to parasitological research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model worms: knowledge gains and risks associated with the use of model species in parasitological research

Poulin

2023

Parasitology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Hymenolepis diminuta

Cited by 1 publication

References 9 publications

Model worms: knowledge gains and risks associated with the use of model species in parasitological research

Model worms: knowledge gains and risks associated with the use of model species in parasitological research

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