Expansion of Cyclophyllidea Biodiversity in Rodents of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the “Out of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” Hypothesis of Cyclophyllideans

Abstract

The Cyclophyllidea comprises the most species-rich order of tapeworms (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda) and includes species with some of the most severe health impact on wildlife, livestock, and humans. We collected seven Cyclophyllidea specimens from rodents in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and its surrounding mountain systems, of which four specimens in QTP were unsequenced, representing “putative new species.” Their complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes were sequenced and annotated. Phylogenetic reconstruction of partial 28S rDNA, cox1 and nad1 datasets provided high bootstrap frequency support for the categorization of three “putative new species,” assigning each, respectively, to the genera Mesocestoides, Paranoplocephala, and Mosgovoyia, and revealing that some species and families in these three datasets, which contain 291 species from nine families, may require taxonomic revision. The partial 18S rDNA phylogeny of 29 species from Taeniidae provided high bootstrap frequency support for the categorization of the “putative new species” in the genus Hydatigera. Combined with the current investigation, the other three known Taeniidae species found in this study were Taenia caixuepengi, T. crassiceps, and Versteria mustelae and may be widely distributed in western China. Estimates of divergence time based on cox1 + nad1 fragment and mt protein-coding genes (PCGs) showed that the differentiation rate of Cyclophyllidea species was strongly associated with the rate of change in the biogeographic scenarios, likely caused by the uplift of the QTP; i.e., species differentiation of Cyclophyllidea might be driven by host-parasite co-evolution caused by the uplift of QTP. We propose an “out of QTP” hypothesis for the radiation of these cyclophyllidean tapeworms.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae) in wild plateau pika: Genome descriptions and Phylogenetic evolution

“…The QTP and its surrounding mountain systems are one of the hotspots of biodiversity (Wu et al, 2022) and have played important roles in the evolution of organisms (Rahbek et al, 2019). The uplift of the QTP and associated climate change has driven species diversity on the plateau (Mao et al, 2021), while also causing the isolation and divergence of many species (Flantua et al, 2019;Rahbek et al, 2019).…”

Genomic divergence of Stellera chamaejasme through local selection across the Qinghai–Tibet plateau and northern China

“…S. chamaejasme therefore provides a good model system with which to examine genomic divergence and gene flow between distinct lineages, which seems to be driven by geographical isolation. Such "allopatric speciation" may be very common in the QTP, a critical biodiversity hotspot among the mountain ecosystems of the Northern Hemisphere (Wu et al, 2022).…”

Helminths of free-ranging dogs and cats in an urban natural reserve in Mexico City and their potential risk as zoonotic agents

“…transmission and exchange of parasites and other pathogens(Landaeta et al 2014).In Mexico (Panti-May et al 2022) and elsewhere(Li et al 2012;Citterio et al 2021;Wu et al 2022), the presence of parasites, including D. caninum, A. caninum, T. cati and Mesocestoides sp., in wildlife animals has been reported, which suggests that the native vertebrates of the REPSA may be parasitized by some of the species that we have recorded in dogs and cats although to date there are no systematic studies that con rm this.In addition to the above, there is a considerable number of species of intestinal parasites whose de nitive hosts are dogs and cats, andwhich have the capacity to infect humans (Robertson and Thompson 2002). According to Salyer et al (2017) and Rhaman et al (2020), about 60% of emerging human infectious diseases have a zoonotic origin.…”

“…Sceloporus occidentalis from USA. In Mexico, only 2 species have been described: M. vogae ex Canis lupus familiarias (Eguia et al 2005) and M. bassarisci McCallum 1921 ex Basssariscus astutus (McCallum 1921), but the validity of the latter has not been con rmed (Caira et al 2022).The cox1 and 28S sequences blast analyses resulted in 91.47% and 97.07% of identity, respectively, with sequences deposited in GenBank for species of this genus that parasitize rodents (NC_061204) from China(Wu et al 2022), and domestic mammals (MK239661) from Europe and Africa (Heneberg et al 2019), respectively. Excepting for M. ambiguous, the sequences of three of the species mentioned above have been deposited in GenBank, but none match the sequences generated here.…”