The life-history impact and implications of multiple parasites for bumble bee queens

Rutrecht, Samina T.; Brown, Mark J. F.

doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2007.11.004

Cited by 91 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…bombi is one of the first discovered entomoparasitic nematodes. In previous reports, it was associated with more than 25 species of genus Bombus (including the socially parasitic subgenus Psithyrus) (Pouvreau 1962;Poinar and van der Laan 1972;Lundberg and Svensson 1975;Macfarlane 1975;MacFarlane and Griffin 1990;McCorquodale et al 1998;Rutrecht and Brown 2008). A major diagnostic character of the species is the small female with an everted and hypertrophied genital tract, sausage-shaped, showing a surface with rows of rounded elevations into the host hemocoel (Poinar and van der Laan 1972;Siddiqi 2000), that have been observed in this study (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Sphaerularia bombi (Nematoda: Sphaerulariidae) parasitizing Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in southern South America

Plischuk

Lange

2012

Parasitol Res

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Bumble bees are some of the most important insect pollinators. However, knowledge on parasites associated to bumble bees in South America is very limited. This study reports the first isolation of a sphaerularid nematode parasitizing queens of the native bumble bee Bombus atratus in Argentina. Measurements and morphological characters of eggs, juveniles, and adults strongly suggest that the species is Sphaerularia bombi, a parasite that affects the reproduction and foraging behavior of the host. The nematode was detected in bumble bees of San Carlos de Bariloche, northwestern Patagonia region, and the surroundings of La Plata, northeastern Pampas region. Prevalence varied between 8% and 20%.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Sphaerularia bombi (Nematoda: Sphaerulariidae) parasitizing Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in southern South America

Plischuk

Lange

2012

Parasitol Res

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“…Only the accumulation of studies will elucidate whether these asymmetries are maintained during multi-parasitism, if the more virulent genotypes are selected from the interaction between parasite species, or if variations in such balances contribute to the maintenance of genetic variation in parasite virulence for each interacting species. Finally, studies of parasite communities also need to be extended to examine their impact on host populations, and especially on how this impact cascades down to affect the individual parasite species within the community (Rutrecht & Brown 2008). This should be particularly 'easy' in a number of model systems (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

2010

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Interactions involving several parasite species (multi-parasitized hosts) or several host species (multi-host parasites) are the rule in nature. Only a few studies have investigated these realistic, but complex, situations from an evolutionary perspective. Consequently, their impact on the evolution of parasite virulence and transmission remains poorly understood. The mechanisms by which multiple infections may influence virulence and transmission include the dynamics of intrahost competition, mediation by the host immune system and an increase in parasite genetic recombination. Theoretical investigations have yet to be conducted to determine which of these mechanisms are likely to be key factors in the evolution of virulence and transmission. In contrast, the relationship between multi-host parasites and parasite virulence and transmission has seen some theoretical investigation. The key factors in these models are the trade-off between virulence across different host species, variation in host species quality and patterns of transmission. The empirical studies on multi-host parasites suggest that interspecies transmission plays a central role in the evolution of virulence, but as yet no complete picture of the phenomena involved is available. Ultimately, determining how complex host-parasite interactions impact the evolution of host-parasite relationships will require the development of cross-disciplinary studies linking the ecology of quantitative networks with the evolution of virulence.

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“…Previous studies have sought to evaluate the potential trade‐offs between reproduction and response to parasites during colony founding in bumble bees (Brown et al. 2003; Rutrecht and Brown 2008), ants (Pull et al. 2013), and termites (Calleri et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2007; Hartke 2010). Interestingly, studies on bumble bees indicate that during the different stages of the colony founding process, the impact of different parasites on the same host varies considerably, ranging from being highly virulent to undetectable (Rutrecht and Brown 2008), and that parasite virulence is context‐dependent and can change in response to changes in the host's conditions (Brown et al. 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic changes in host–virus interactions associated with colony founding and social environment in fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta)

Manfredini

Shoemaker²,

Grozinger

2015

Ecology and Evolution

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The dynamics of host–parasite interactions can change dramatically over the course of a chronic infection as the internal (physiological) and external (environmental) conditions of the host change. When queens of social insects found a colony, they experience changes in both their physiological state (they develop their ovaries and begin laying eggs) and the social environment (they suddenly stop interacting with the other members of the mother colony), making this an excellent model system for examining how these factors interact with chronic infections. We investigated the dynamics of host–viral interactions in queens of Solenopsis invicta (fire ant) as they transition from mating to colony founding/brood rearing to the emergence of the first workers. We examined these dynamics in naturally infected queens in two different social environments, where queens either founded colonies as individuals or as pairs. We hypothesized that stress associated with colony founding plays an important role in the dynamics of host–parasite interactions. We also hypothesized that different viruses have different modalities of interaction with the host that can be quantified by physiological measures and genomic analysis of gene expression in the host. We found that the two most prevalent viruses, SINV‐1 and SINV‐2, are associated with different fitness costs that are mirrored by different patterns of gene expression in the host. In fact SINV‐2, the virus that imposes the significant reduction of a queen's reproductive output is also associated with larger changes of global gene expression in the host. These results show the complexity of interactions between S. invicta and two viral parasites. Our findings also show that chronic infections by viral parasites in insects are dynamic processes that may pose different challenges in the host, laying the groundwork for interesting ecological and evolutionary considerations.

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The life-history impact and implications of multiple parasites for bumble bee queens

Cited by 91 publications

References 47 publications

Sphaerularia bombi (Nematoda: Sphaerulariidae) parasitizing Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in southern South America

Sphaerularia bombi (Nematoda: Sphaerulariidae) parasitizing Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in southern South America

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

Dynamic changes in host–virus interactions associated with colony founding and social environment in fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta)

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