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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2013

ISABEL BLASCO-COSTA*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
ROBERT POULIN
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. E-mail: Isa.Blasco.Costa@gmail.com

Summary

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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