Dataset Information

Comparative phylogeography of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and its host-associated flea (Neopsylla paranoma) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Specific host-parasite systems often embody a particular co-distribution phenomenon, in which the parasite's phylogeographic pattern is dependent on its host. In practice, however, both congruent and incongruent phylogeographic patterns between the host and the parasite have been reported. Here, we compared the population genetics of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi), a subterranean rodent, and its host-associated flea species, Neopsylla paranoma, with an aim to determine whether the two animals share a similar phylogeographic pattern. RESULTS:We sampled 130 host-parasite pairs from 17 localities in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, and sequenced a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segment (~2,500 bp), including the complete COI and COII genes. We also detected 55 zokor and 75 flea haplotypes. AMOVA showed that the percentage of variation among the populations of zokors constituted 97.10%, while the within population variation was only 2.90%; for fleas, the values were 85.68% and 14.32%, respectively. Moreover, the flea Fst (fixation index) values were significantly smaller than in zokor. Although the Fst values between zokors and fleas were significantly and positively correlated (N=105, R=0.439, p=0.000), only a small amount (R2=0.19) of the flea Fst variations could be explained by the zokor Fst variations. The two animals showed very distinct haplotype network structures from each other while co-phylogenetic analyses were unable to reject the hypothesis of an independence of speciation events. CONCLUSIONS:Zokors and fleas have very distinct population genetic patterns from each other, likely due to the influence of other sympatrically-distributed vertebrates on the transmission of fleas.

SUBMITTER: Lin G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4448280 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Comparative phylogeography of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and its host-associated flea (Neopsylla paranoma) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Lin Gonghua G Zhao Fang F Chen Hongjian H Deng Xiaogong X Su Jianping J Zhang Tongzuo T

BMC evolutionary biology 20140817

<h4>Background</h4>Specific host-parasite systems often embody a particular co-distribution phenomenon, in which the parasite's phylogeographic pattern is dependent on its host. In practice, however, both congruent and incongruent phylogeographic patterns between the host and the parasite have been reported. Here, we compared the population genetics of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi), a subterranean rodent, and its host-associated flea species, Neopsylla paranoma, with an aim to determine w ...[more]

PMID: 25927620

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Project description:Wild-caught animals must cope with drastic lifestyle and dietary changes after being induced to captivity. How the gut microbiome structure of these animals will change in response receives increasing attention. The plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi), a typic subterranean rodent endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, spends almost the whole life underground and is well adapted to the environmental pressures of both plateau and underground. However, how the gut microbiome of the plateau zokor will change in response to captivity has not been reported to date. This study compared the microbial community structure and functions of 22 plateau zokors before (the WS group) and after being kept in captivity for 15 days (the LS group, fed on carrots) using the 16S rRNA gene via high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the LS group retained 973 of the 977 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the WS group, and no new OTUs were found in the LS group. The dominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroides and Firmicutes in both groups. In alpha diversity analysis, the Shannon, Sobs, and ACE indexes of the LS group were significantly lower than those of the WS group. A remarkable difference (P < 0.01) between groups was also detected in beta diversity analysis. The UPGMA clustering, NMDS, PCoA, and Anosim results all showed that the intergroup difference was significantly greater than the intragroup difference. And compared with the WS group, the intragroup difference of the gut microbiota in the LS group was much larger, which failed to support the assumption that similar diets should drive convergence of gut microbial communities. PICRUSt revealed that although some functional categories displayed significant differences between groups, the relative abundances of these categories were very close in both groups. Based on all the results, we conclude that as plateau zokors enter captivity for a short time, although the relative abundances of different gut microbiota categories shifted significantly, they can maintain almost all the OTUs and the functions of the gut microbiota in the wild. So, the use of wild-caught plateau zokors in gut microbial studies is acceptable if the time in captivity is short.

Dataset Information

Comparative phylogeography of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and its host-associated flea (Neopsylla paranoma) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Publications

Comparative phylogeography of the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and its host-associated flea (Neopsylla paranoma) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

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