Indirect Costs of Parasitism are Shaped by Variation in the Type of Immune Challenge and Food Availability

Bize, Pierre; Piault, Romain; Gasparini, Julien; Roulin, Alexandre

doi:10.1007/s11692-010-9092-5

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…Further, the body condition of a host affects its ability to mount an immune response (known as its immunocompetence). This has been discussed in the literature as ‘condition dependence’ [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]. An individual in good condition has more resources and therefore a greater capacity to mount an immune response, which improves its chances of survival [ 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sarcoptes scabiei: The Mange Mite with Mighty Effects on the Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)

2016

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Parasitism has both direct and indirect effects on hosts. Indirect effects (such as behavioural changes) may be common, although are often poorly described. This study examined sarcoptic mange (caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei) in the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), a species that shows severe symptoms of infection and often causes mortality. Wombats showed alterations to above ground behaviours associated with mange. Infected wombats were shown to be active outside of the burrow for longer than healthy individuals. Additionally, they spent more time scratching and drinking, and less time walking as a proportion of time spent above ground when compared with healthy individuals. They did not spend a higher proportion of time feeding, but did have a slower feeding rate and were in poorer body condition. Thermal images showed that wombats with mange lost considerably more heat to the environment due to a diminished insulation layer. Infection status did not have an effect on burrow emergence time, although this was strongly dependent on maximum daily temperature. This study, through the most detailed behavioural observations of wombats to date, contributes to a broader understanding of how mange affects wombat health and abundance, and also to our understanding of the evolution of host responses to this parasite. Despite being globally dispersed and impacting over 100 species with diverse intrinsic host traits, the effects of mange on hosts are relatively poorly understood, and it is possible that similar effects of this disease are conserved in other host species. The indirect effects that we observed may extend to other pathogen types.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sarcoptes scabiei: The Mange Mite with Mighty Effects on the Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)

2016

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“…Hosts suffer a double cost of infection because parasites use them as sources of nutrients but also force them to induce an immune response resulting in overall fitness costs ( Bize et al. 2010 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Parasite Infection Causes Genome-Wide Changes in DNA Methylation

Sagonas

Meyer

Kaufmann

et al. 2020

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Parasites are arguably among the strongest drivers of natural selection, constraining hosts to evolve resistance and tolerance mechanisms. Although, the genetic basis of adaptation to parasite infection has been widely studied, little is known about how epigenetic changes contribute to parasite resistance and eventually, adaptation. Here, we investigated the role of host DNA methylation modifications to respond to parasite infections. In a controlled infection experiment, we used the three-spined stickleback fish, a model species for host–parasite studies, and their nematode parasite Camallanus lacustris. We showed that the levels of DNA methylation are higher in infected fish. Results furthermore suggest correlations between DNA methylation and shifts in key fitness and immune traits between infected and control fish, including respiratory burst and functional trans-generational traits such as the concentration of motile sperm. We revealed that genes associated with metabolic, developmental, and regulatory processes (cell death and apoptosis) were differentially methylated between infected and control fish. Interestingly, genes such as the neuropeptide FF receptor 2 and the integrin alpha 1 as well as molecular pathways including the Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation were hypermethylated in infected fish, suggesting parasite-mediated repression mechanisms of immune responses. Altogether, we demonstrate that parasite infection contributes to genome-wide DNA methylation modifications. Our study brings novel insights into the evolution of vertebrate immunity and suggests that epigenetic mechanisms are complementary to genetic responses against parasite-mediated selection.

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“…Crucially these differing effects of parasitism on males and females may have significant implications for selection and population processes. Effects of parasitism are often context and host-condition dependent, with effects expected to be more apparent in bad conditions (Bustnes et al 2006, Bize et al 2010, Granroth-Wilding et al 2014. Previous experimental work with this system found that for chicks, the effects of parasite removal were more pronounced in years of poor productivity (Granroth-Wilding et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sublethal effects of natural parasitism act through maternal, but not paternal, reproductive success in a wild population

Hicks

Green

Daunt

et al. 2019

Ecology

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Parasites are a major component of all animal populations. Males and females often differ in their levels of parasite prevalence, potentially leading to sex differences in the impact of parasitism on fitness, with important implications for the evolution of parasite and host traits including resistance, tolerance, and virulence. However, quantitative measures of the impact of parasitism under free-living conditions are extremely rare, as they require detailed host demographic data with measures of parasite burden over time. Here, we use endoscopy for direct quantification of natural-parasite burdens and relate these to reproductive success over 7 yr in a wild population of seabirds. Contrary to predictions, only female burdens were associated with negative impacts of parasitism on breeding success, despite males having significantly higher burdens. Female reproductive success declined by 30% across the range of natural parasite burdens. These effects persisted when accounting for interannual population differences in breeding success. Our results provide quantitative estimates of profound sublethal effects of parasitism on the population. Importantly, they highlight how parasites act unpredictably to shape ecological and evolutionary processes in different components of the same population, with implications for demography and selection on host and parasite traits.

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Indirect Costs of Parasitism are Shaped by Variation in the Type of Immune Challenge and Food Availability

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

Sarcoptes scabiei: The Mange Mite with Mighty Effects on the Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)

Sarcoptes scabiei: The Mange Mite with Mighty Effects on the Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)

Experimental Parasite Infection Causes Genome-Wide Changes in DNA Methylation

Sublethal effects of natural parasitism act through maternal, but not paternal, reproductive success in a wild population

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