MalAvi: a public database of malaria parasites and related haemosporidians in avian hosts based on mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages

Abstract

Research in avian blood parasites has seen a remarkable increase since the introduction of polymerase chain reaction-based methods for parasite identification. New data are revealing complex multihost-multiparasite systems which are difficult to understand without good knowledge of the host range and geographical distribution of the parasite lineages. However, such information is currently difficult to obtain from the literature, or from general repositories such as GenBank, mainly because (i) different research groups use different parasite lineage names, (ii) GenBank entries frequently refer only to the first host and locality at which each parasite was sampled, and (iii) different researchers use different gene fragments to identify parasite lineages. We propose a unified database of avian blood parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon identified by a partial region of their cytochrome b sequences. The database uses a standardized nomenclature to remove synonymy, and concentrates all available information about each parasite in a public reference site, thereby facilitating access to all researchers. Initial data include a list of host species and localities, as well as genetic markers that can be used for phylogenetical analyses. The database is free to download and will be regularly updated by the authors. Prior to publication of new lineages, we encourage researchers to assign names to match the existing database. We anticipate that the value of the database as a source for determining host range and geographical distribution of the parasites will grow with its size and substantially enhance the understanding of this remarkably diverse group of parasites.

Avian malaria: a new lease of life for an old experimental model to study the evolutionary ecology ofPlasmodium

“…Further experiments will also be needed to address two important issues that hinder the interpretation of our results and make it difficult to compare them with those obtained in rodent malaria [20]. First, rodent malaria experiments have been carried out using single genotype isolates [31], while our strain is a field isolate containing a single P. relictum lineage (as defined by its cyt-b sequence [5]) but with an unknown amount of genetic variability. It is therefore not impossible that the genetic diversity of our strain may have changed through the serial passages, an interesting possibility that will be worth exploring when the molecular tools become available with the upcoming the full genome sequence of the SGS1 strain.…”

“…Molecular studies have revealed an unexpected level of diversity in avian malaria parasites, which rivals anything that has been found in other vertebrate hosts. There are currently around 600 mitochondrial cytochrome b-based lineages of avian Plasmodium available (MalAvi Database [5]), although disagreement continues about the relative relevance of morphological characteristics and sequence differences for establishing species boundaries in avian malaria [6]. Avian malaria is much more prevalent (in some areas up to 80% of birds are infected [7]) and widespread (it is present in all continents except Antarctica) than any other vertebrate malaria.…”

“…SGS1 is the most generalist of all the currently described avian malaria lineages: it has thus far been found infecting 95 different species in 10 different orders (MalAvi database, [5]). Its prevalence depends on the host species and geographical region, but it can attain extremely high levels, particularly in passerine birds: in the South of France 70-80% of sparrows and up to 4% of Cx pipiens mosquitoes are infected with this lineage [7,8].…”

Exploring host and geographical shifts in transmission of haemosporidians in a Palaearctic passerine wintering in India

“…The most prevalent lineage ACDUM1 differs by single base pair substitution with ACAGR2, a lineage common in the Paddyfield Warbler in Bulgaria and Russia (Zehtindjiev et al 2009). However, based on a 351 bp cyt b identical match, both lineages have been reported in three resident avian hosts in India (Ishtiaq et al 2007;Bensch et al 2009). In addition, two lineages, ACDUM1and ACDUM5, were detected in resident Himalayan birds, albeit in low frequency, that point towards shift in transmission areas as India or possible spill over infections (see Hellgren et al 2009).…”

Local parasite lineage sharing in temperate grassland birds provides clues about potential origins of Galapagos avian Plasmodium

“…DNA lineages were matched to sequences in the MalAvi database v.2.1.1 (Bensch et al. 2009) using the integrated BLAST tool. If a 100% lineage match in MalAvi was found, we extracted all host taxonomic and sampling location information.…”