Rhythmicity of egg production by <i>Heligmosomoides polygyrus</i> in wild wood mice, <i>Apodemus sylvaticus</i>

Brown, Emma; Macdonald, David W.; Tew, Tom; Todd, I. A.

doi:10.1017/s0022149x00013602

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Several studies have shown that parasitic nematodes display biological activity rhythms that are adjusted to the circadian rhythm of their host or carrier/vector (32)(33). GPCRs like the PDF receptors, which are involved in control of locomotion, make interesting targets for the development of novel, more selective and environmentally friendly antihelminthic drugs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Characterization of Three G Protein-coupled Receptors for Pigment Dispersing Factors in Caenorhabditis elegans

Janssen

Husson

Lindemans

et al. 2008

Journal of Biological Chemistry

136

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Here, we report the identification, cloning, and functional characterization of three Caenorhabditis elegans G proteincoupled pigment dispersing factor (PDF) receptors, which we designated as Ce_PDFR-1a, -b, and -c. They represent three splice isoforms of the same gene (C13B9.4), which share a high degree of similarity with the Drosophila PDF receptor and are distantly related to the mammalian vasoactive intestinal peptide receptors (VPAC2) and calcitonin receptors. In a reverse pharmacological screen, three bioactive C. elegans neuropeptides, which were recently identified as the Drosophila PDF orthologues, were able to activate these receptors in a dose-dependent manner with nanomolar potency (isoforms a and b). Integrated green fluorescent protein reporter constructs reveal the expression of these PDF receptors in all body wall muscle cells and many head and tail neurons involved in the integration of environmental stimuli and the control of locomotion. Using a custom data analysis system, we demonstrate the involvement of this newly discovered neuropeptide signaling system in the regulation of locomotor behavior. Overexpression of PDF-2 phenocopies the locomotor defects of a PDF-1 null mutant, suggesting that they elicit opposite effects on locomotion through the identified PDF receptors. Our findings strengthen the hypothesis that the PDF signaling system, which imposes the circadian clock rhythm on behavior in Drosophila, has been functionally conserved throughout the protostomian evolutionary lineage.The neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor (PDF) 3 was initially discovered in crustaceans (as pigment-dispersing hormone), where it drives a daily rhythm of color changes (1). Thereafter, highly conserved PDF peptides were identified in many species of insects and recently also in nematodes (2). 4PDF is a crucial component of the insect circadian clock and has been characterized as a putative output factor, controlling daily rhythms in locomotor activity (3, 4). In 2005, three independent studies identified CG13758, a class B peptide G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), as the receptor for PDF in Drosophila melanogaster (PDFR) (5-7). It is related to the mammalian VIP receptor (VPAC2) and to the calcitonin receptor, both of which are expressed in the mammalian master clock. Fly PDFR mutants and flies lacking PDF both exhibit severe deficits in free-running locomotor rhythms (4 -6). Recently, 3 endogenous PDF-like neuropeptides were discovered in the free-living nematode model organism C. elegans.4 They are expressed mainly in neurons involved in chemosensation, mechanosensation, oxygen sensing, and locomotion. Circadian analysis revealed that at least two of these peptides (e.g. PDF-1a and -b) are involved in the control of daily locomotor rhythms in C. elegans.4 Mutants lacking PDF-1 mimic the behavioral phenotype of Drosophila PDF mutants with respect to free-running locomotor rhythms. This led us to the hypothesis that the PDF signaling system, which imposes the clock rhythm on behavior, may be functionally...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Characterization of Three G Protein-coupled Receptors for Pigment Dispersing Factors in Caenorhabditis elegans

Janssen

Husson

Lindemans

et al. 2008

Journal of Biological Chemistry

136

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“…Brown et al (1994a) studied the epizootiology of H. polygyrus in a population of A. sylvaticus in England and proved an overdispersed distribution of the nematode, with higher prevalence of infestation in males and heavier rodents. The prevalence of infestation was highest in spring and declined in autumn, and infected rodents moved more often and faster than uninfected rodents (Brown et al 1994b). The reasons for these results are still unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite fauna of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in an urban region of Germany: reservoir host of zoonotic metazoan parasites?

2007

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In the present study, 29 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) were studied for their endo- and ectoparasite fauna. The rodents were trapped in Dormagen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A total of ten different parasite species were identified: four endoparasite (four Nematoda) and six ectoparasite (three Insecta, three Arachnida) species. The predominant endoparasite was the nematode Aonchotheca murissylvatici, followed by the nematode Heligmosomum costellatum, while the flea Ctenophthalmus agyrtes was the dominant ectoparasite. C. glareolus usually carried one to five different parasite species (mean 2.2). The bank voles were infected only by Nematoda, while Digenea or Cestoda species were not detected. The present findings are in clear contrast to the results obtained in other geographical regions of Germany and Europe, where eight different Cestoda species constituted the main part of the helminth parasites in C. glareolus. In the area investigated, the bank voles harbored no zoonotic parasites, and therefore, they play not a role as potential reservoir host for these parasite species.

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“…1989) and as the prepatency period of H. polygyrus from egg to egg was 13–15 days long (Keymer 1985), each individual was treated once a month. Heligmosomoides polygyrus egg production follows a 24‐h cycle fluctuation (Brown et al. 1994b) and to avoid a possible temporal effect in faeces collection we randomized the order of collection of faeces samples between the trapping grids and the grids themselves.…”

Section: Parasite Manipulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of host sex in parasite dynamics: field experiments on the yellow‐necked mouseApodemus flavicollis

Ferrari

Cattadori

Nespereira³

et al. 2003

Ecology Letters

152

137

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We investigated the role of host sex in parasite transmission and questioned: ‘Is host sex important in influencing the dynamics of infection in free living animal populations?’ We experimentally reduced the helminth community of either males or females in a yellow‐necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) population using an anthelmintic, in replicated trapping areas, and subsequently monitored the prevalence and intensity of macroparasites in the untreated sex. We focussed on the dominant parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus and found that reducing parasites in males caused a consistent reduction of parasitic intensity in females, estimated through faecal egg counts, but the removal of parasites in females had no significant influence on the parasites in males. This finding suggests that males are responsible for driving the parasite infection in the host population and females may play a relatively trivial role. The possible mechanisms promoting such patterns are discussed.

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Rhythmicity of egg production by Heligmosomoides polygyrus in wild wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Functional Characterization of Three G Protein-coupled Receptors for Pigment Dispersing Factors in Caenorhabditis elegans

Functional Characterization of Three G Protein-coupled Receptors for Pigment Dispersing Factors in Caenorhabditis elegans

Parasite fauna of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in an urban region of Germany: reservoir host of zoonotic metazoan parasites?

The role of host sex in parasite dynamics: field experiments on the yellow‐necked mouseApodemus flavicollis

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