scholarly journals Host tropism determination by convergent evolution of immunological evasion in the Lyme disease system

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. e1009801
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Hart ◽  
Alan P. Dupuis ◽  
Danielle M. Tufts ◽  
Anna M. Blom ◽  
Simon R. Starkey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Factor H ◽  
Host Tropism ◽  
Causative Agents ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Bacterial Transmission ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Pathogens possess the ability to adapt and survive in some host species but not in others–an ecological trait known as host tropism. Transmitted through ticks and carried mainly by mammals and birds, the Lyme disease (LD) bacterium is a well-suited model to study such tropism. Three main causative agents of LD, Borrelia burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. garinii, vary in host ranges through mechanisms eluding characterization. By feeding ticks infected with different Borrelia species, utilizing feeding chambers and live mice and quail, we found species-level differences in bacterial transmission. These differences localize on the tick blood meal, and specifically complement, a defense in vertebrate blood, and a polymorphic bacterial protein, CspA, which inactivates complement by binding to a host complement inhibitor, Factor H (FH). CspA selectively confers bacterial transmission to vertebrates that produce FH capable of allele-specific recognition. CspA is the only member of the Pfam54 gene family to exhibit host-specific FH-binding. Phylogenetic analyses revealed convergent evolution as the driver of such uniqueness, and that FH-binding likely emerged during the last glacial maximum. Our results identify a determinant of host tropism in Lyme disease infection, thus defining an evolutionary mechanism that shapes host-pathogen associations.

scholarly journals Host tropism determination by convergent evolution of immunological evasion in the Lyme disease system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Hart ◽  
Alan P. Dupuis ◽  
Danielle M. Tufts ◽  
Anna M. Blom ◽  
Simon Starkey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Complement Inhibitor ◽  
Host Tropism ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Bacterial Transmission ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

ABSTRACTMicroparasites selectively adapt in some hosts, known as host tropism. Transmitted through ticks and carried mainly by mammals and birds, the Lyme disease (LD) bacterium is a well-suited model to study such tropism. LD bacteria species vary in host ranges through mechanisms eluding characterization. By feeding ticks infected with different LD bacteria species, utilizing feeding chambers and live mice and quail, we found species-level differences of bacterial transmission. These differences localize on the tick blood meal, and complement, a defense in vertebrate blood, and a bacterial polymorphic protein, CspA, which inactivates complement by binding to a host complement inhibitor, FH. CspA selectively confers bacterial transmission to vertebrates that produce FH capable of allele-specific recognition. Phylogenetic analyses revealed convergent evolution as the driver of such findings, which likely emerged during the last glacial maximum. Our results identify LD bacterial determinants of host tropism, defining an evolutionary mechanism that shapes host-microparasite associations.

scholarly journals Old wild wolves: ancient DNA survey unveils population dynamics in Late Pleistocene and Holocene Italian remains

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Maria Ciucani ◽  
Davide Palumbo ◽  
Marco Galaverni ◽  
Patrizia Serventi ◽  
Elena Fabbri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Hypervariable Region ◽  
Chronological Period ◽  
Complex Population ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Mitochondrial Clade ◽  
The Last Glacial

Background The contemporary Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus) represents a case of morphological and genetic uniqueness. Today, Italian wolves are also the only documented population to fall exclusively within the mitochondrial haplogroup 2, which was the most diffused across Eurasian and North American wolves during the Late Pleistocene. However, the dynamics leading to such distinctiveness are still debated. Methods In order to shed light on the ancient genetic variability of this wolf population and on the origin of its current diversity, we collected 19 Late Pleistocene-Holocene samples from northern Italy, which we analyzed at a short portion of the hypervariable region 1 of the mitochondrial DNA, highly informative for wolf and dog phylogenetic analyses. Results Four out of the six detected haplotypes matched the ones found in ancient wolves from northern Europe and Beringia, or in modern European and Chinese wolves, and appeared closely related to the two haplotypes currently found in Italian wolves. The haplotype of two Late Pleistocene samples matched with primitive and contemporary dog sequences from the canine mitochondrial clade A. All these haplotypes belonged to haplogroup 2. The only exception was a Holocene sample dated 3,250 years ago, affiliated to haplogroup 1. Discussion In this study we describe the genetic variability of the most ancient wolf specimens from Italy analyzed so far, providing a preliminary overview of the genetic make-up of the population that inhabited this area from the last glacial maximum to the Middle Age period. Our results endorsed that the genetic diversity carried by the Pleistocene wolves here analyzed showed a strong continuity with other northern Eurasian wolf specimens from the same chronological period. Contrarily, the Holocene samples showed a greater similarity only with modern sequences from Europe and Asia, and the occurrence of an haplogroup 1 haplotype allowed to date back previous finding about its presence in this area. Moreover, the unexpected discovery of a 24,700-year-old sample carrying a haplotype that, from the fragment here obtained, falls within the canine clade A, could represent the oldest evidence in Europe of such dog-rich clade. All these findings suggest complex population dynamics that deserve to be further investigated based on mitochondrial or whole genome sequencing.

Reconstructions of the past distribution of Testudo graeca mitochondrial lineages in the Middle East and Transcaucasia support multiple refugia since the Last Glacial Maximum

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-17
Author(s):  
Oguz Turkozan
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Past ◽  
Precipitation Seasonality ◽  
Multiple Refugia ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

A cycle of glacial and interglacial periods in the Quaternary caused species’ ranges to expand and contract in response to climatic and environmental changes. During interglacial periods, many species expanded their distribution ranges from refugia into higher elevations and latitudes. In the present work, we projected the responses of the five lineages of Testudo graeca in the Middle East and Transcaucasia as the climate shifted from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, Mid – Holocene), to the present. Under the past LGM and Mid-Holocene bioclimatic conditions, models predicted relatively more suitable habitats for some of the lineages. The most significant bioclimatic variables in predicting the present and past potential distribution of clades are the precipitation of the warmest quarter for T. g. armeniaca (95.8 %), precipitation seasonality for T. g. buxtoni (85.0 %), minimum temperature of the coldest month for T. g. ibera (75.4 %), precipitation of the coldest quarter for T. g. terrestris (34.1 %), and the mean temperature of the driest quarter for T. g. zarudyni (88.8 %). Since the LGM, we hypothesise that the ranges of lineages have either expanded (T. g. ibera), contracted (T. g. zarudnyi) or remained stable (T. g. terrestris), and for other two taxa (T. g. armeniaca and T. g. buxtoni) the pattern remains unclear. Our analysis predicts multiple refugia for Testudo during the LGM and supports previous hypotheses about high lineage richness in Anatolia resulting from secondary contact.

WASATCH RANGE, UT GLACIER RECONSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM AND LATEGLACIAL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendon J. Quirk ◽  
◽  
Jeffrey R. Moore ◽  
Benjamin J. Laabs ◽  
Mitchell A. Plummer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial
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