Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.

Parasitic interactions are often part of complex networks of interspecific relationships that have evolved in biological communities. Despite many years of work on the evolution of parasitism, the likelihood that sister taxa of parasites can co-evolve with their hosts to specifically infect two rela...

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Main Authors: Nicole Nishimura, David C Heins, Ryan O Andersen, Iain Barber, William A Cresko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3139657?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-ebe676b3ae3f4cf49a91af3edeee56bd2020-11-25T02:48:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-0167e2250510.1371/journal.pone.0022505Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.Nicole NishimuraDavid C HeinsRyan O AndersenIain BarberWilliam A CreskoParasitic interactions are often part of complex networks of interspecific relationships that have evolved in biological communities. Despite many years of work on the evolution of parasitism, the likelihood that sister taxa of parasites can co-evolve with their hosts to specifically infect two related lineages, even when those hosts occur sympatrically, is still unclear. Furthermore, when these specific interactions occur, the molecular and physiological basis of this specificity is still largely unknown. The presence of these specific parasitic relationships can now be tested using molecular markers such as DNA sequence variation. Here we test for specific parasitic relationships in an emerging host-parasite model, the stickleback-Schistocephalus system. Threespine and ninespine stickleback fish are intermediate hosts for Schistocephalus cestode parasites that are phenotypically very similar and have nearly identical life cycles through plankton, stickleback, and avian hosts. We analyzed over 2000 base pairs of COX1 and NADH1 mitochondrial DNA sequences in 48 Schistocephalus individuals collected from threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts from disparate geographic regions distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Our data strongly support the presence of two distinct clades of Schistocephalus, each of which exclusively infects either threespine or ninespine stickleback. These clades most likely represent different species that diverged soon after the speciation of their stickleback hosts. In addition, genetic structuring exists among Schistocephalus taken from threespine stickleback hosts from Alaska, Oregon and Wales, although it is much less than the divergence between hosts. Our findings emphasize that biological communities may be even more complex than they first appear, and beg the question of what are the ecological, physiological, and genetic factors that maintain the specificity of the Schistocephalus parasites and their stickleback hosts.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3139657?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Nicole Nishimura
David C Heins
Ryan O Andersen
Iain Barber
William A Cresko
spellingShingle Nicole Nishimura
David C Heins
Ryan O Andersen
Iain Barber
William A Cresko
Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Nicole Nishimura
David C Heins
Ryan O Andersen
Iain Barber
William A Cresko
author_sort Nicole Nishimura
title Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
title_short Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
title_full Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
title_fullStr Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
title_full_unstemmed Distinct lineages of Schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by DNA sequence analysis.
title_sort distinct lineages of schistocephalus parasites in threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts revealed by dna sequence analysis.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2011-01-01
description Parasitic interactions are often part of complex networks of interspecific relationships that have evolved in biological communities. Despite many years of work on the evolution of parasitism, the likelihood that sister taxa of parasites can co-evolve with their hosts to specifically infect two related lineages, even when those hosts occur sympatrically, is still unclear. Furthermore, when these specific interactions occur, the molecular and physiological basis of this specificity is still largely unknown. The presence of these specific parasitic relationships can now be tested using molecular markers such as DNA sequence variation. Here we test for specific parasitic relationships in an emerging host-parasite model, the stickleback-Schistocephalus system. Threespine and ninespine stickleback fish are intermediate hosts for Schistocephalus cestode parasites that are phenotypically very similar and have nearly identical life cycles through plankton, stickleback, and avian hosts. We analyzed over 2000 base pairs of COX1 and NADH1 mitochondrial DNA sequences in 48 Schistocephalus individuals collected from threespine and ninespine stickleback hosts from disparate geographic regions distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Our data strongly support the presence of two distinct clades of Schistocephalus, each of which exclusively infects either threespine or ninespine stickleback. These clades most likely represent different species that diverged soon after the speciation of their stickleback hosts. In addition, genetic structuring exists among Schistocephalus taken from threespine stickleback hosts from Alaska, Oregon and Wales, although it is much less than the divergence between hosts. Our findings emphasize that biological communities may be even more complex than they first appear, and beg the question of what are the ecological, physiological, and genetic factors that maintain the specificity of the Schistocephalus parasites and their stickleback hosts.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3139657?pdf=render
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