Dataset Information

Trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes.

ABSTRACT: Trypanosomatid flagellates have not been studied in Austria in any detail. In this study, specific nested PCR, targeted on the ribosomal small subunit, was used to determine the occurrence and diversity of trypanosomatids in wild-caught mosquitoes sampled across Eastern Austria in the years 2014-2015. We collected a total of 29,975 mosquitoes of 19 species divided in 1680 pools. Of these, 298 (17.7%), representing 12 different mosquito species, were positive for trypanosomatid DNA. In total, seven trypanosomatid spp. were identified (three Trypanosoma, three Crithidia and one Herpetomonas species), with the highest parasite species diversity found in the mosquito host Coquillettidia richiardii. The most frequent parasite species belonged to the mammalian Trypanosoma theileri/cervi species complex (found in 105 pools; 6.3%). The avian species T. culicavium (found in 69 pools; 4.1%) was only detected in mosquitoes of the genus Culex, which corresponds to their preference for avian hosts. Monoxenous trypanosomatids of the genus Crithidia and Herpetomonas were found in 20 (1.3%) mosquito pools. One third (n = 98) of the trypanosomatid positive mosquito pools carried more than one parasite species. This is the first large scale study of trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes and our results are valuable in providing an overview of the diversity of these parasites in Austria.

SUBMITTER: Schoener E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5908168 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes.

Schoener Ellen E Uebleis Sarah Susanne SS Cuk Claudia C Nawratil Michaela M Obwaller Adelheid G AG Zechmeister Thomas T Lebl Karin K Rádrová Jana J Zittra Carina C Votýpka Jan J Fuehrer Hans-Peter HP

PloS one 20180419 4

Trypanosomatid flagellates have not been studied in Austria in any detail. In this study, specific nested PCR, targeted on the ribosomal small subunit, was used to determine the occurrence and diversity of trypanosomatids in wild-caught mosquitoes sampled across Eastern Austria in the years 2014-2015. We collected a total of 29,975 mosquitoes of 19 species divided in 1680 pools. Of these, 298 (17.7%), representing 12 different mosquito species, were positive for trypanosomatid DNA. In total, sev ...[more]

PMID: 29672618

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Project description:Insect vectors, namely mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), are compulsory for malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) to complete their life cycle. Despite this, little is known about vector competence of different mosquito species for the transmission of avian malaria parasites.In this study, nested PCR was used to determine Plasmodium spp. occurrence in pools of whole individuals, as well as the diversity of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences in wild-caught mosquitoes sampled across Eastern Austria in 2013-2015.A total of 45,749 mosquitoes in 2628 pools were collected, of which 169 pools (6.43%) comprising 9 mosquito species were positive for avian Plasmodium, with the majority of positives in mosquitoes of Culex pipiens s.l./Culex torrentium. Six different avian Plasmodium lineages were found, the most common were Plasmodium vaughani SYAT05, Plasmodium sp. Linn1 and Plasmodium relictum SGS1. In 2014, mosquitoes of the Culex pipiens complex were genetically identified and Culex pipiens f. pipiens presented with the highest number of avian Plasmodium positives (n = 37; 16.74%). Despite this, the minimum infection rate (MIR) was highest in Culex torrentium (5.36%) and Culex pipiens f. pipiens/f. molestus hybrids (5.26%). During 2014 and 2015, seasonal and annual changes in Plasmodium lineage distribution were also observed. In both years P. vaughani SYAT05 dominated at the beginning of the sampling period to be replaced later in the year by P. relictum SGS1 (2014) and Plasmodium sp. Linn1 (2015).This is the first large-scale study of avian Plasmodium parasites in Austrian mosquitoes. These results are of special interest, because molecular identification of the taxa of the Cx. pipiens complex and Cx. torrentium enabled the determination of Plasmodium prevalence in the different mosquito taxa and hybrids of this complex. Since pools of whole insects were used, it is not possible to assert any vector competence in any of the examined mosquitoes, but the results are nonetheless valuable in providing an overview of avian Plasmodium species and lineages present in Austria.

Project description:BackgroundLarge amino acid transporter gene families were identified from the genome sequences of three parasitic protists, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania major. These genes encode molecular sensors of the external host environment for trypanosomatid cells and are crucial to modulation of gene expression as the parasite passes through different life stages. This study provides a comprehensive phylogenetic account of the origins of these genes, redefining each locus according to a positional criterion, through the integration of phyletic identity with comparative gene order information.ResultsEach locus was individually specified by its surrounding gene order and associated with homologs showing the same position ('homoeologs') in other species, where available. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenies were in general agreement on systematic relationships and confirmed several 'orthology sets' of genes retained since divergence from the common ancestor. Reconciliation analysis quantified the scale of duplication and gene loss, as well as identifying further apparent orthology sets, which lacked conservation of genomic position. These instances suggested substantial genomic restructuring or transposition. Other analyses identified clear instances of evolutionary rate changes post-duplication, the effects of concerted evolution within tandem gene arrays and gene conversion events between syntenic loci.ConclusionDespite their importance to cell function and parasite development, the repertoires of AAT loci in trypanosomatid parasites are relatively fluid in both complement and gene dosage. Some loci are ubiquitous and, after an ancient origin through transposition, originated through descent from the ancestral trypanosomatid. However, reconciliation analysis demonstrated that unilateral expansions of gene number through tandem gene duplication, transposition of gene duplicates to otherwise well conserved genomic positions, and differential patterns of gene loss have produced largely customised and idiosyncratic AAT repertoires in all three species. Not least in T. brucei, which seems to have retained fewer ancestral loci and has acquired novel loci through a complex mix of tandem and transpositive duplication.

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Dataset Information

Trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes.

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Trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes.

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