Expansion of rDNA and pericentromere satellite repeats in the genomes of bank voles Myodes glareolus exposed to environmental radionuclides

ABSTRACTToxoplasma gondii is a significant pathogen affecting humans and animals. We conducted seromonitoring for T. gondii in four sylvatic rodent species in Poland. We report an overall seroprevalence of 5.5% (3.6% for Myodes glareolus and 20% for other vole species). Seroprevalence in bank voles varied significantly between host age and sex.

Download Full-text

Temporal and between-site variation in helminth communities of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from N.E. Poland. 1. Regional fauna and component community levels

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182008004393 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 135 (8) ◽

pp. 985-997 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

J. M. BEHNKE ◽

A. BAJER ◽

P. D. HARRIS ◽

L. NEWINGTON ◽

E. PIDGEON ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Similarity Index ◽

Helminth Fauna ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Component Community ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Helminth Infections ◽

Site Variation ◽

Jaccard's Similarity Index

SUMMARYHelminth infections were studied in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from 3 woodland sites in N.E. Poland in the late summers of 1999 and 2002, to assess the temporal stability of derived statistics describing the regional helminth fauna and component community structure, and spatial influence on the latter. Regional helminth fauna changed dramatically between the two years, primarily due to a fall in the abundance ofSyphacia petrusewiczibut was partially compensated for by an increase inMesocestoides lineatusandCladotaenia globifera. It was dominated by nematodes overall, but more so in 1999 than in 2002 when larval cestodes were more frequent. Most derived parameters for component community structure varied considerably between sites and the two surveys, the hierarchical order for sites not being maintained between surveys. They were susceptible to the disproportionate influence of three relatively rare, unpredictable species with the greatest overall aggregated distribution among hosts. Jaccard's similarity index was less influenced by the rare species, showing greater stability between sites and across years. In conclusion, temporal variation confounded any site-specific characteristics of the summary measures quantified in this study and their usefulness is therefore restricted to the years in which the surveys were conducted.

Download Full-text

Polyandry enhances offspring survival in an infanticidal species

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2009.0500 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 24-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Ines Klemme ◽

Hannu Ylönen

Keyword(s):

Mating Systems ◽

Multiple Mating ◽

Empirical Test ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Offspring Survival ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Female Counterstrategy ◽

Fitness Benefits ◽

Selection For ◽

Genetic Fitness

The adaptive significance of polyandry is an intensely debated subject in sexual selection. For species with male infanticidal behaviour, it has been hypothesized that polyandry evolved as female counterstrategy to offspring loss: by mating with multiple males, females may conceal paternity and so prevent males from killing putative offspring. Here we present, to our knowledge, the first empirical test of this hypothesis in a combined laboratory and field study, and show that multiple mating seems to reduce the risk of infanticide in female bank voles Myodes glareolus . Our findings thus indicate that females of species with non-resource based mating systems, in which males provide nothing but sperm, but commit infanticide, can gain non-genetic fitness benefits from polyandry.

Download Full-text

Studies in bank voles reveal strain differences between chronic wasting disease prions from Norway and North America

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2013237117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (49) ◽

pp. 31417-31426 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Romolo Nonno ◽

Michele A. Di Bari ◽

Laura Pirisinu ◽

Claudia D’Agostino ◽

Ilaria Vanni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

North American ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Chronic Wasting Disease ◽

Strain Differences ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Wasting Disease ◽

Proximate Cause ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Regional Deposition

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a relentless epidemic disorder caused by infectious prions that threatens the survival of cervid populations and raises increasing public health concerns in North America. In Europe, CWD was detected for the first time in wild Norwegian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in 2016. In this study, we aimed at comparing the strain properties of CWD prions derived from different cervid species in Norway and North America. Using a classical strain typing approach involving transmission and adaptation to bank voles (Myodes glareolus), we found that prions causing CWD in Norway induced incubation times, neuropathology, regional deposition of misfolded prion protein aggregates in the brain, and size of their protease-resistant core, different from those that characterize North American CWD. These findings show that CWD prion strains affecting Norwegian cervids are distinct from those found in North America, implying that the highly contagious North American CWD prions are not the proximate cause of the newly discovered Norwegian CWD cases. In addition, Norwegian CWD isolates showed an unexpected strain variability, with reindeer and moose being caused by different CWD strains. Our findings shed light on the origin of emergent European CWD, have significant implications for understanding the nature and the ecology of CWD in Europe, and highlight the need to assess the zoonotic potential of the new CWD strains detected in Europe.

Download Full-text

Bank vole immunoheterogeneity may limit Nephropatia Epidemica emergence in a French non-endemic region

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182017001548 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 145 (3) ◽

pp. 393-407 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. DUBOIS ◽

G. CASTEL ◽

S. MURRI ◽

C. PULIDO ◽

J.-B. PONS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bank Vole ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Disease Emergence ◽

Endemic Region ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Free Region ◽

Limited Dispersal ◽

Antiviral Gene ◽

French Region

SUMMARYEcoevolutionary processes affecting hosts, vectors and pathogens are important drivers of zoonotic disease emergence. In this study, we focused on nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is caused by Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) whose natural reservoir is the bank vole,Myodes glareolus. We questioned the possibility of NE emergence in a French region that is considered to be NE-free but that is adjacent to a NE-endemic region. We first confirmed the epidemiology of these two regions and we demonstrated the absence of spatial barriers that could have limited dispersal, and consequently, the spread of PUUV into the NE-free region. We next tested whether regional immunoheterogeneity could impact PUUV chances to circulate and persist in the NE-free region. We showed that bank voles from the NE-free region were sensitive to experimental PUUV infection. We observed high levels of immunoheterogeneity between individuals and also between regions. Antiviral gene expression (TnfandMx2) reached higher levels in bank voles from the NE-free region. During experimental infections, anti-PUUV antibody production was higher in bank voles from the NE-endemic region. These results indicated a lower susceptibility to PUUV for bank voles from this NE-free region, which might limit PUUV persistence and therefore, the risk of NE.

Download Full-text

Infection Load and Prevalence of Novel Viruses Identified from the Bank Vole Do Not Associate with Exposure to Environmental Radioactivity

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v12010044 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 44 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jenni Kesäniemi ◽

Anton Lavrinienko ◽

Eugene Tukalenko ◽

Tapio Mappes ◽

Phillip C. Watts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bank Vole ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Systemic Infection ◽

Environmental Radioactivity ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Environmental Radiation ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Zoonotic Viruses ◽

Repair Activity ◽

Radiation Contamination

Bank voles (Myodes glareolus) are host to many zoonotic viruses. As bank voles inhabiting areas contaminated by radionuclides show signs of immunosuppression, resistance to apoptosis, and elevated DNA repair activity, we predicted an association between virome composition and exposure to radionuclides. To test this hypothesis, we studied the bank vole virome in samples of plasma derived from animals inhabiting areas of Ukraine (contaminated areas surrounding the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, and uncontaminated areas close to Kyiv) that differed in level of environmental radiation contamination. We discovered four strains of hepacivirus and four new virus sequences: two adeno-associated viruses, an arterivirus, and a mosavirus. However, viral prevalence and viral load, and the ability to cause a systemic infection, was not dependent on the level of environmental radiation.

Download Full-text

In Vivo Characterization of a Bank Vole-Derived Cowpox Virus Isolate in Natural Hosts and the Rat Model

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v12020237 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 237

Author(s):

Saskia Weber ◽

Kathrin Jeske ◽

Rainer G. Ulrich ◽

Christian Imholt ◽

Jens Jacob ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bank Vole ◽

Wistar Rats ◽

Reservoir Host ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Replication Capacity ◽

Cowpox Virus ◽

Saguinus Oedipus ◽

Bank Voles ◽

Common Voles

Cowpox virus (CPXV) belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus in the Poxviridae family and is endemic in western Eurasia. Based on seroprevalence studies in different voles from continental Europe and UK, voles are suspected to be the major reservoir host. Recently, a CPXV was isolated from a bank vole (Myodes glareolus) in Germany that showed a high genetic similarity to another isolate originating from a Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus). Here we characterize this first bank vole-derived CPXV isolate in comparison to the related tamarin-derived isolate. Both isolates grouped genetically within the provisionally called CPXV-like 3 clade. Previous phylogenetic analysis indicated that CPXV is polyphyletic and CPXV-like 3 clade represents probably a different species if categorized by the rules used for other orthopoxviruses. Experimental infection studies with bank voles, common voles (Microtus arvalis) and Wistar rats showed very clear differences. The bank vole isolate was avirulent in both common voles and Wistar rats with seroconversion seen only in the rats. In contrast, inoculated bank voles exhibited viral shedding and seroconversion for both tested CPXV isolates. In addition, bank voles infected with the tamarin-derived isolate experienced a marked weight loss. Our findings allow for the conclusion that CPXV isolates might differ in their replication capacity in different vole species and rats depending on their original host. Moreover, the results indicate host-specific differences concerning CPXV-specific virulence. Further experiments are needed to identify individual virulence and host factors involved in the susceptibility and outcome of CPXV-infections in the different reservoir hosts.

Download Full-text