Evidence for a Role of the Host-Specific Flea (Paraceras melis) in the Transmission of Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) pestanai to the European Badger

Lizundia, Regina; Newman, Chris; Buesching, Christina D.; Ngugi, Daniel; Blake, Damer P.; Sin, Simon Yung Wa; Macdonald, David W.; Wilson, Alan M.; McKeever, Declan J.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016977

Cited by 26 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The starting models included five fixed effects: three categorical [age-class (cub or adult), sex and season] and two continuous effects (weight/length ratio and standardized microsatellite heterozygosity). The number of fleas was also included in the T. pestanai infection model, as P. melis is its vector (Lizundia et al 2011). We controlled for individuals with multiple samples and for individuals from the same group by including individual identity and social group identity as random effects, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

et al. 2014

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Pathogen-mediated selection is thought to maintain the extreme diversity in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, operating through the heterozygote advantage, rare-allele advantage and fluctuating selection mechanisms. Heterozygote advantage (i.e. recognizing and binding a wider range of antigens than homozygotes) is expected to be more detectable when multiple pathogens are considered simultaneously. Here, we test whether MHC diversity in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles) is driven by pathogen-mediated selection. We examined individual prevalence (infected or not), infection intensity and co-infection of 13 pathogens from a range of taxa and examined their relationships with MHC class I and class II variability. This population has a variable, but relatively low, number of MHC alleles and is infected by a variety of naturally occurring pathogens, making it very suitable for the investigation of MHC-pathogen relationships. We found associations between pathogen infections and specific MHC haplotypes and alleles. Co-infection status was not correlated with MHC heterozygosity, but there was evidence of heterozygote advantage against individual pathogen infections. This suggests that rare-allele advantages and/or fluctuating selection, and heterozygote advantage are probably the selective forces shaping MHC diversity in this species. We show stronger evidence for MHC associations with infection intensity than for prevalence and conclude that examining both pathogen prevalence and infection intensity is important. Moreover, examination of a large number and diversity of pathogens, and both MHC class I and II genes (which have different functions), provide an improved understanding of the mechanisms driving MHC diversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

et al. 2014

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“…These nidiculous infestations are non-trivial, because badger ectoparasites can vector other pathogens (e.g. Macdonald et al 1999;Newman, Macdonald & Anwar 2001;Lizundia et al 2011). As well as ectoparasite loads, subterranean chambers are also often contaminated with other sources of disease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new Magneto‐Inductive tracking technique to uncover subterranean activity: what do animals do underground?

et al. 2015

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Summary1. Despite the importance of the subterranean ecotope, knowledge of underground movement and behaviour has been extremely limited. Previous technologies have relied upon techniques with very low spatial or temporal resolution, such as VHF telemetry. Rather incongruously, therefore, relatively simple underground activity regimes have often been assumed, with insufficient attention to the ecological importance of burrow use. 2. We test the capability of Magneto-Inductive (MI) tracking, recording underground movement within a European badger sett over a 2 week period in February. These data allowed us to: quantify subterranean movement; extrapolate the three-dimensional burrow architecture; simultaneously track multiple individuals; and establish the function of specific movement patterns; demonstrating the technique's utility. Contrasting data generated using MI tracking, against the resolution achievable with VHF tracking, we establish how sampling frequency can influence the perception of movement. 3. Taking 20 locational fixes per minute, MI collars operated for 1 year before on-board batteries failed, resulting in an average five billion data points per collar deployment. Socio-ecologically we found that rather than foraging continuously throughout the night, badgers returned to the sett an average of 2Á2 times, approximately every 3-4 h. From burrow mapping, badgers tended to use peripheral chambers for c. 45 min on these return visits. These outlying chambers were used less by day, when badgers selected deeper chambers, suggesting each chamber type fulfils a different function. This technology also exposed that badgers exhibited a far greater extent of underground movement than revealed by former technologies, which by comparison captured <0Á5% of subterranean activity. Importantly, these high-resolution data showed that individuals left, returned to, and moved about the sett independently, with no tendency for synchronous subterranean activity. 4. In overview, Magneto-Inductive tracking proved relatively simple and cost-effective to deploy, it provided very detailed and accurate subterranean fixes, and was robust enough for long-term field deployment. Furthermore, the capabilities of MI are highly transferable, enabling a better understanding of underground activity and the ecological importance of subterranean burrows for the conservation and management of a wide range of species.

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“…They are found globally, including the UK, and infect a wide range of species. To date, a variety of trypanosome species have been detected in British fauna, with most being from the subgenera Herpetosoma and Megatrypanum [ 2 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The European badger ( Meles meles ) is a widespread and common wild mammal in the UK. Studies conducted on British badgers in Cornwall [ 3 ] and Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire [ 2 , 4 ] have shown them to be infected with Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) pestanai but knowledge about infection of badgers with trypanosomes in other geographical areas is sparse. To date, the only study using molecular tools for the determination of prevalence of infection has been the Wytham Woods study that used an 18S gene PCR to determine the prevalence of T. pestanai as 31 % in the badger population [ 2 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High prevalence of trypanosomes in European badgers detected using ITS-PCR

et al. 2015

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BackgroundWildlife can be important sources and reservoirs for pathogens. Trypanosome infections are common in many mammalian species, and are pathogenic in some. Molecular detection tools were used to measure trypanosome prevalence in a well-studied population of wild European badgers (Meles meles).FindingsA nested ITS-PCR system, that targeted the ribosomal RNA gene locus, has been widely used to detect pathogenic human and animal trypanosomes in domestic animals in Africa and some wildlife hosts. Samples from a long-term DEFRA funded capture-mark-recapture study of wild badgers at Woodchester Park (Gloucestershire, SW England) were investigated for trypanosome prevalence. A total of 82 badger blood samples were examined by nested ITS-PCR. Twenty-nine of the samples were found to be positive for trypanosomes giving a prevalence of 35.4 % (25.9 % - 46.2 %; 95 % CI). Infection was not found to be linked to badger condition, sex or age. Analysis of DNA sequence data showed the badgers to be infected with Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) pestanai and phylogenetic analysis showed the Woodchester badger trypanosomes and T. pestanai to cluster in the Megatrypanum clade.ConclusionsThe results show that the ITS Nested PCR is an effective tool for diagnosing trypanosome infection in badgers and suggests that it could be widely used in wildlife species with unknown trypanosomes or mixed infections. The relatively high prevalence observed in these badgers raises the possibility that a significant proportion of UK badgers are naturally infected with trypanosomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-1088-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Evidence for a Role of the Host-Specific Flea (Paraceras melis) in the Transmission of Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) pestanai to the European Badger

Cited by 26 publications

References 35 publications

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

A new Magneto‐Inductive tracking technique to uncover subterranean activity: what do animals do underground?

High prevalence of trypanosomes in European badgers detected using ITS-PCR

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