LINKAGE BETWEEN NUCLEAR AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA SEQUENCES IN AVIAN MALARIA PARASITES: MULTIPLE CASES OF CRYPTIC SPECIATION?

Analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome b diversity among avian blood parasites of the genera Haemoproteus and Plasmodium suggest that there might be as many lineages of parasites as there are species of birds. This is in sharp contrast to the approximately 175 parasite species described by traditional...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEvolution Vol. 58; no. 7; pp. 1617 - 1621
Main Authors Bensch, Staffan, Pérez-Tris, Javier, Waldenström, Jonas, Hellgren, Olof
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Society for the Study of Evolution 01.07.2004
Oxford University Press
Subjects
Animals
Base Sequence
Biological taxonomies
Birds
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS
Cytochrome b
Cytochromes
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DHFR-TS
DNA
DNA Primers
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Evolution
Evolutionary biology
Genetic diversity
Genetic loci
Genetic Variation
Haemoproteus
Haemosporida - genetics
Host-Parasite Interactions
Malaria
Mitochondrial DNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Multienzyme Complexes - genetics
Parasite hosts
Parasites
Parasitism
Phylogeny
Plasmodium
reproductive isolation
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Songbirds - parasitology
Spain
Species
Species Specificity
Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase - genetics
Thymidylate Synthase - genetics
Spain
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Summary:Analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome b diversity among avian blood parasites of the genera Haemoproteus and Plasmodium suggest that there might be as many lineages of parasites as there are species of birds. This is in sharp contrast to the approximately 175 parasite species described by traditional methods based on morphology using light microscopy. Until now it has not been clear to what extent parasite mitochondrial DNA lineage diversity reflects intra- or interspecific variation. We have sequenced part of a fast-evolving nuclear gene, dihydrofolate reductase– thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS), and demonstrate that most of the parasite mitochondrial DNA lineages are associated with unique gene copies at this locus. Although these parasite lineages sometimes coexist in the same host individual, they apparently do not recombine and could therefore be considered as functionally distinct evolutionary entities, with independent evolutionary potential. Studies examining parasite virulence and host immune systems must consider this remarkable diversity of avian malaria parasites.
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ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1554/04-026