Alternative life-history and transmission strategies in a parasite: first come, first served?

Parasitology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. POULIN ◽  
F. LEFEBVRE
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Host Location ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Transmission Strategy ◽  
External Cues ◽  
Host Life ◽  
Host Tissues

Alternative transmission strategies are common in many parasitic organisms, often representing discrete phenotypes adopted in response to external cues. The facultative truncation of the normal 3-host life-cycle to a 2-host cycle in many trematodes provides an example: some individuals mature precociously, via progenesis, in their intermediate host and produce eggs without the need to reach a definitive host. The factors that determine how many and which individuals adopt the truncated life-cycle within a parasite population remain unknown. We investigated the occurrence of progenesis in the trematode Stegodexamene anguillae within its fish intermediate host. Location within the host was a key determinant of progenesis. Although the size and egg output of progenetic metacercariae encysted in host gonads did not differ from those of the few progenetic metacercariae in other host tissues, the likelihood of metacercariae becoming progenetic was much higher for those in the gonads than those elsewhere in the host. Progenetic parasites can only evacuate their eggs along with host eggs or sperm, providing a link between the parasite's transmission strategy and its location in the host. Host size and sex, and the presence of other parasite species in the host, did not affect the occurrence of progenesis in S. anguillae. However, the proportion of metacercariae in host gonads and the proportion of progenetic metacercariae both decreased with increasing numbers of S. anguillae per host. These results suggest that progenesis is adopted mostly by the parasites that successfully establish in host gonads. These are generally the first to infect a fish; subsequent arrivals settle in other tissues as the gonads quickly become saturated with parasites. In this system, the site of encystment within the fish host both promotes and constrains the adoption of a facultative, truncated life-cycle by the parasite.

Encystment site affects the reproductive strategy of a progenetic trematode in its fish intermediate host: is host spawning an exit for parasite eggs?

Parasitology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
pp. 1183-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
KRISTIN K. HERRMANN ◽  
ROBERT POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Fish Spawning ◽  
Second Intermediate Host ◽  
Host Life ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Fish Hosts

SUMMARYEach transmission event in complex, multi-host life cycles create obstacles selecting for adaptations by trematodes. One such adaptation is life cycle abbreviation through progenesis, in which the trematode precociously matures and reproduces within the second intermediate host. Progenesis eliminates the need for the definitive host and increases the chance of life cycle completion. However, progenetic individuals face egg-dispersal challenges associated with reproducing within metacercarial cysts in the tissues or body cavity of the second intermediate host. Most progenetic species await host death for their eggs to be released into the environment. The present study investigated temporal variation of progenesis in Stegodexamene anguillae in one of its second intermediate fish hosts and the effect of the fish's reproductive cycle on progenesis. The study involved monthly sampling over 13 months at one locality. A greater proportion of individuals became progenetic in the gonads of female fish hosts. Additionally, progenesis of worms in the gonads was correlated with seasonal daylight and temperature changes, major factors controlling fish reproduction. Host spawning events are likely to be an avenue of egg dispersal for this progenetic species, with the adoption of progenesis being conditional on whether or not the parasite can benefit from fish spawning.

Coevolutionary interactions between host life histories and parasite life cycles

Parasitology ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 116 (S1) ◽  
pp. S47-S55 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Koella ◽  
P. Agnew ◽  
Y. Michalakis
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Ecology ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Microsporidian Parasite ◽  
History Of ◽  
Host Life ◽  
Host Parasite

SummarySeveral recent studies have discussed the interaction of host life-history traits and parasite life cycles. It has been observed that the life-history of a host often changes after infection by a parasite. In some cases, changes of host life-history traits reduce the costs of parasitism and can be interpreted as a form of resistance against the parasite. In other cases, changes of host life-history traits increase the parasite's transmission and can be interpreted as manipulation by the parasite. Alternatively, changes of host's life-history traits can also induce responses in the parasite's life cycle traits. After a brief review of recent studies, we treat in more detail the interaction between the microsporidian parasite Edhazardia aedis and its host, the mosquito Aedes aegypti. We consider the interactions between the host's life-history and parasite's life cycle that help shape the evolutionary ecology of their relationship. In particular, these interactions determine whether the parasite is benign and transmits vertically or is virulent and transmits horizontally.Key words: host-parasite interaction, life-history, life cycle, coevolution.

Smelling the future: subtle life-history adjustments in response to environmental conditions and perceived transmission opportunities in a trematode

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. LAGRUE ◽  
R. RINNEVALLI ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Priming Effects

SUMMARYA number of parasites with complex life cycles can abbreviate their life cycles to increase the likelihood of reproducing. For example, some trematodes can facultatively skip the definitive host and produce viable eggs while still inside their intermediate host. The resulting shorter life cycle is clearly advantageous when transmission probabilities to the definitive hosts are low. Coitocaecum parvum can mature precociously (progenesis), and produce eggs by selfing inside its amphipod second intermediate host. Environmental factors such as definitive host density and water temperature influence the life-history strategy adopted by C. parvum in their crustacean host. However, it is also possible that information about transmission opportunities gathered earlier in the life cycle (i.e. by cercariae-producing sporocysts in the first intermediate host) could have priming effects on the adoption of one or the other life strategy. Here we document the effects of environmental parameters (host chemical cues and temperature) on cercarial production within snail hosts and parasite life-history strategy in the amphipod host. We found that environmental cues perceived early in life have limited priming effects on life-history strategies later in life and probably account for only a small part of the variation among conspecific parasites. External cues gathered at the metacercarial stage seem to largely override potential effects of the environmental conditions experienced by early stages of the parasite.

Lack of seasonal variation in the life-history strategies of the trematode Coitocaecum parvum: no apparent environmental effect

Parasitology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 135 (10) ◽  
pp. 1243-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. LAGRUE ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Coitocaecum Parvum

SUMMARYParasites with complex life cycles have developed numerous and very diverse adaptations to increase the likelihood of completing this cycle. For example, some parasites can abbreviate their life cycles by skipping the definitive host and reproducing inside their intermediate host. The resulting shorter life cycle is clearly advantageous when definitive hosts are absent or rare. In species where life-cycle abbreviation is facultative, this strategy should be adopted in response to seasonally variable environmental conditions. The hermaphroditic trematode Coitocaecum parvum is able to mature precociously (progenesis), and produce eggs by selfing while still inside its amphipod second intermediate host. Several environmental factors such as fish definitive host density and water temperature are known to influence the life-history strategy adopted by laboratory raised C. parvum. Here we document the seasonal variation of environmental parameters and its association with the proportion of progenetic individuals in a parasite population in its natural environment. We found obvious seasonal patterns in both water temperature and C. parvum host densities. However, despite being temporally variable, the proportion of progenetic C. parvum individuals was not correlated with any single parameter. The results show that C. parvum life-history strategy is not as flexible as previously thought. It is possible that the parasite's natural environment contains so many layers of heterogeneity that C. parvum does not possess the ability to adjust its life-history strategy to accurately match the current conditions.

Selection pressure towards monoxeny in Camallanus cotti (Nematoda, Camallanidae) facing an intermediate host bottleneck situation

Parasitology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. LEVSEN ◽  
P. J. JAKOBSEN
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Ornamental Fish Trade ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Camallanus Cotti ◽  
Fish Trade ◽  
Direct Life Cycle ◽  
Freshwater Teleosts

This paper describes the ability of the Asian fish nematode Camallanuscotti to carry out both heteroxeny, i.e. an indirect life-cycle using copepods as intermediate host, and monoxeny, i.e. direct infection and development in the definitive fish host. C. cotti occurs naturally in various freshwater teleosts in Asia. During the past decades it has been disseminated into closed or semi-closed aquaculture systems and aquaria around the world, mainly due to the ornamental fish trade. Under such conditions the species may frequently face a bottleneck situation with regard to the availability of copepods. It is known that C. cotti may reproduce and persist in copepod-free aquaria for several months. In order to investigate whether C. cotti has selected towards monoxeny in water systems lacking copepods, in contrast to the opposite selection pressure when copepods are present, 2 separate infection trials were run. It was shown that the parasite can infect the fish host both indirectly via copepods, and directly. However, C. cotti has significantly higher fitness, expressed as survival to maturity, when transmitted indirectly compared to the direct transmission mode. We suggest that the ability of aquarium populations of C. cotti to carry out a direct life-cycle is favoured by selection in order to avoid extinction whenever copepods are absent. It still remains unknown, however, whether the parasite shows the same characteristics in the wild.

How have fisheries affected parasite communities?

Parasitology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHELSEA L. WOOD ◽  
KEVIN D. LAFFERTY
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Parasite Diversity ◽  
Parasite Abundance ◽  
Parasite Communities ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Parasite Assemblages

SUMMARYTo understand how fisheries affect parasites, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies that contrasted parasite assemblages in fished and unfished areas. Parasite diversity was lower in hosts from fished areas. Larger hosts had a greater abundance of parasites, suggesting that fishing might reduce the abundance of parasites by selectively removing the largest, most heavily parasitized individuals. After controlling for size, the effect of fishing on parasite abundance varied according to whether the host was fished and the parasite's life cycle. Parasites of unfished hosts were more likely to increase in abundance in response to fishing than were parasites of fished hosts, possibly due to compensatory increases in the abundance of unfished hosts. While complex life cycle parasites tended to decline in abundance in response to fishing, directly transmitted parasites tended to increase. Among complex life cycle parasites, those with fished hosts tended to decline in abundance in response to fishing, while those with unfished hosts tended to increase. However, among directly transmitted parasites, responses did not differ between parasites with and without fished hosts. This work suggests that parasite assemblages are likely to change substantially in composition in increasingly fished ecosystems, and that parasite life history and fishing status of the host are important in predicting the response of individual parasite species or groups to fishing.

The Life History of Gastrodiscoides hominis (Lewis and McConnel, 1876) Leiper, 1913– the Amphistome Parasite of Man and Pig

1972 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Dutt ◽  
H. D. Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Adult Fluke ◽  
History Of

The life cycle of Gastrodiscoidcs hominis has been described using Helicorbis coenosus as the experimental intermediate host and the pig as the definitive host.The morphology of the miracidium, redia and metacercaria has been described. Data have been furnished on the infection and longevity, of and production of cercariae by the snail host, and the growth and development of the adult-fluke in the definitive host.

ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND LIFE HISTORY OF PHOCANEMA DECIPIENS (KRABBE, 1878) MYERS, 1959 (NEMATODA:ANISAKIDAE)

1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Harp Seal ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
Probable Source ◽  
History Of ◽  
Freezing Temperatures

Phocanema (synonyms: Porrocaecum, Terranova) decipiens is described in detail and its probable life cycle outlined. Eggs deposited in salt water develop and hatch in 7 to 14 days at between 10 °C and 24 °C, even after previous freezing. Temperatures over 24 °C are lethal. Larvae fed to a large variety of invertebrates passed quickly through their intestines still alive; fed to fish, they disappeared within 24 hours but in one case a larva was found ensheathed in the intestine. No larvae were found in 'wild' invertebrates although many were infected with free-living nematodes. It is concluded that, while numerous invertebrates may act as 'transport' hosts for the larva to a fish, none acts as a true intermediate host. While larvae infective to seals occur commonly in the muscles of cod, a large variety of other fish are also infected and are a more probable source of infection. Development to maturity in the seal takes approximately three weeks, and it is probable that the main source of the infection in the Gulf of St, Lawrence is the harp seal, although harbor and grey seals also contribute to it.

THE MORPHOLOGY, TAXONOMY, AND LIFE HISTORY OF METORCHIS CONJUNCTUS (COBBOLD, 1860)

1944 ◽  
Vol 22d (1) ◽  
pp. 6-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. M. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second Intermediate Host ◽  
The Common ◽  
First Intermediate Host

A trematode, widely distributed in Canada, and occurring in man and other fish-eating mammals, is described and its taxonomy discussed. Its life cycle has been worked out and it is shown to involve a snail, Amnicola limosa porata as first intermediate host and a fish, the common sucker (Catostomus commersonii) as the second intermediate host. The larval stages are described.

Life history of Genarchopsis goppo Ozaki, 1925 (Trematoda: Hemiuridae) from the freshwater fish Channa punctata

1978 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Madhavi
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Paratenic Host ◽  
Developmental Cycle ◽  
Channa Punctata ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Intermediate Host

ABSTRACTThe life cycle of Genarchopsis goppo a hemiurid trematode found in the stomach of Channa punctata has been worked out in detail. The egg contains a fully developed miracidium at the time of liberation. The miracidium contains a ciliated covering, a long apical gland and a crown of spines at the anterior end. The snail Amnicola travancorica acts as the first intermediate host inside which the miracidium passes through sporocyst and redial generations. The cercaria is of cystophorous type and is identical to Cercariae Indicae Sewell XXXV. Metacercaria occurs in the ostracods Stenocypris malcolmsoni and Eucyoris capensis. The fish Aplocheilus panchax serves as the paratenic host. The entire developmental cycle from egg to egg producing adult takes 3 months.

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