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Phylogeny affects host's weight, immune response and parasitism in damselflies and dragonflies.

ABSTRACT: Host-parasite interactions are an intriguing part of ecology, and understanding how hosts are able to withstand parasitic attacks, e.g. by allocating resources to immune defence, is important. Damselflies and dragonflies show a variety of parasitism patterns, but large-scale comparative immune defence studies are rare, and it is difficult to say what the interplay is between their immune defence and parasitism. The aim of this study was to find whether there are differences in immune response between different damselfly and dragonfly species and whether these could explain their levels of gregarine and water mite parasitism. Using an artificial pathogen, a piece of nylon filament, we measured the encapsulation response of 22 different damselfly and dragonfly species and found that (i) there are significant encapsulation differences between species, (ii) body mass has a strong association with encapsulation and parasite prevalences, (iii) body mass shows a strong phylogenetic signal, whereas encapsulation response and gregarine and water mite prevalences show weak signals, and (iv) associations between the traits are affected by phylogeny. We do not know what the relationship is between these four traits, but it seems clear that phylogeny plays a role in determining parasitism levels of damselflies and dragonflies.

SUBMITTER: Ilvonen JJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5180119 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phylogeny affects host's weight, immune response and parasitism in damselflies and dragonflies.

Ilvonen Jaakko J JJ Suhonen Jukka J

Royal Society open science 20161109 11

Host-parasite interactions are an intriguing part of ecology, and understanding how hosts are able to withstand parasitic attacks, e.g. by allocating resources to immune defence, is important. Damselflies and dragonflies show a variety of parasitism patterns, but large-scale comparative immune defence studies are rare, and it is difficult to say what the interplay is between their immune defence and parasitism. The aim of this study was to find whether there are differences in immune response be ...[more]

PMID: 28018621

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Project description:A mermithid nematode was found parasitizing nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies. The host specimens were collected from the stream Cajaravilla, Magdalena, Buenos Aires state, Argentina. In this work, we described Amphimermis enzoni n. sp., a nematode new to science. Nematodes were identified through morphological and molecular methods. The combination of the following characters separates A. enzoni n. sp. from other members of the genus Amphimermis Steiner: long and S-shaped vagina, twisted spicules for proximal 34% of their length, untwisted for 12%, again twisted for 30%, and untwisted for the last 24%; genital papillae arranged in three rows, medial row marginally longer than sub-medial rows; medial row bifurcated immediately anterior and posterior to cloaca, with 111 genital papillae (73 pre-anals and 38 post-anals). The sequences of 18S rDNA regions from A. enzoni formed a well-supported monophyletic clade with two GenBank sequences of Amphimermis spp. (EF617354 and EF617355) with 0.63 to 1.26% divergence and two Mermithidae spp. (LC512371 and LC512370) with 0.63 to 1.1% divergence, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first example of mermithid infection in nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies for South America.A mermithid nematode was found parasitizing nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies. The host specimens were collected from the stream Cajaravilla, Magdalena, Buenos Aires state, Argentina. In this work, we described Amphimermis enzoni n. sp., a nematode new to science. Nematodes were identified through morphological and molecular methods. The combination of the following characters separates A. enzoni n. sp. from other members of the genus Amphimermis Steiner: long and S-shaped vagina, twisted spicules for proximal 34% of their length, untwisted for 12%, again twisted for 30%, and untwisted for the last 24%; genital papillae arranged in three rows, medial row marginally longer than sub-medial rows; medial row bifurcated immediately anterior and posterior to cloaca, with 111 genital papillae (73 pre-anals and 38 post-anals). The sequences of 18S rDNA regions from A. enzoni formed a well-supported monophyletic clade with two GenBank sequences of Amphimermis spp. (EF617354 and EF617355) with 0.63 to 1.26% divergence and two Mermithidae spp. (LC512371 and LC512370) with 0.63 to 1.1% divergence, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first example of mermithid infection in nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies for South America.

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Phylogeny affects host's weight, immune response and parasitism in damselflies and dragonflies.

Publications

Phylogeny affects host's weight, immune response and parasitism in damselflies and dragonflies.

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