Host traits explain the genetic structure of parasites: a meta-analysis

0420948 - BC 2014 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Blasco-Costa, Maria Isabel - Poulin, R.
Host traits explain the genetic structure of parasites: a meta-analysis.
Parasitology. Roč. 140, č. 10 (2013), s. 1316-1322. ISSN 0031-1820. E-ISSN 1469-8161
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 252124 - PARAPOPGENE
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : meta-analysis * host traits * parasite traits * F-statistics * population genetic structure * dispersal * autogenic life cycle * allogenic life cycle
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 2.350, year: 2013

Gene flow maintains the genetic integrity of species over large spatial scales, and dispersal maintains gene flow among separate populations. However, body size is a strong correlate of dispersal ability, with small-bodied organisms being poor dispersers. For parasites, small size may be compensated by using their hosts for indirect dispersal. In trematodes, some species use only aquatic hosts to complete their life cycle, whereas others use birds or mammals as final hosts, allowing dispersal among separate aquatic habitats. We performed the first test of the universality of the type of life cycle as a driver of parasite dispersal, using a meta-analysis of 16 studies of population genetic structure in 16 trematode species. After accounting for the geographic scale of a study, the number of populations sampled, and the genetic marker used, we found the type of life cycle to be the best predictor of genetic structure (Fst): trematode species bound to complete their life cycle within water showed significantly more pronounced genetic structuring than those leaving water through a bird or mammal host. This finding highlights the dependence of parasites on host traits for their dispersal, suggesting that genetic differentiation of parasites reflects the mobility of their hosts.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0227476