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Dynamics of parasitemia of malaria parasites in a naturally and experimentally infected migratory songbird, the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus

Zehtindjiev, Pavel ; Ilieva, Mihaela ; Westerdahl, Helena LU ; Hansson, Bengt LU orcid ; Valkiunas, Gediminas and Bensch, Staffan LU (2008) In Experimental Parasitology 119(1). p.99-110
Abstract
Little is known about the development of infection of malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium in wild birds. We used qPCR, targeting specific mitochondrial lineages of Plasmodium ashfordi (GRW2) and Plasmodium relictum (GRW4), to monitor changes in intensities of parasitemia in captive great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus from summer to spring. The study involved both naturally infected adults and experimentally infected juveniles. The experiment demonstrated that P. ashfordi and P. relictum lineages differ substantially in several life-history traits (e.g. prepatent period and dynamics of parasitemia) and that individual hosts show substantial differences in responses to these infections. The intensity of parasitemia of... (More)
Little is known about the development of infection of malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium in wild birds. We used qPCR, targeting specific mitochondrial lineages of Plasmodium ashfordi (GRW2) and Plasmodium relictum (GRW4), to monitor changes in intensities of parasitemia in captive great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus from summer to spring. The study involved both naturally infected adults and experimentally infected juveniles. The experiment demonstrated that P. ashfordi and P. relictum lineages differ substantially in several life-history traits (e.g. prepatent period and dynamics of parasitemia) and that individual hosts show substantial differences in responses to these infections. The intensity of parasitemia of lineages in mixed infections co-varied positively, suggesting a control mechanism by the host that is general across the parasite lineages. The intensity of parasitemia for individual hosts was highly repeatable suggesting variation between the host individuals in their genetic or acquired control of the infections. In future studies, care must be taken to avoid mixed infections in wild caught donors, and when possible use mosquitoes for the experiments as inoculation of infectious blood ignores important initial stages of the contact between the bird and the parasite. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Plasmodium, Acrocephalus arundinaceus, avian malaria, mixed infections, qPCR
in
Experimental Parasitology
volume
119
issue
1
pages
99 - 110
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000255728800015
  • scopus:41549133484
  • pmid:18280472
ISSN
0014-4894
DOI
10.1016/j.exppara.2007.12.018
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3c1e2347-6471-4c11-85de-6f870cbc5c23 (old id 1203845)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:35:40
date last changed
2022-02-04 00:18:00
@article{3c1e2347-6471-4c11-85de-6f870cbc5c23,
  abstract     = {{Little is known about the development of infection of malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium in wild birds. We used qPCR, targeting specific mitochondrial lineages of Plasmodium ashfordi (GRW2) and Plasmodium relictum (GRW4), to monitor changes in intensities of parasitemia in captive great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus from summer to spring. The study involved both naturally infected adults and experimentally infected juveniles. The experiment demonstrated that P. ashfordi and P. relictum lineages differ substantially in several life-history traits (e.g. prepatent period and dynamics of parasitemia) and that individual hosts show substantial differences in responses to these infections. The intensity of parasitemia of lineages in mixed infections co-varied positively, suggesting a control mechanism by the host that is general across the parasite lineages. The intensity of parasitemia for individual hosts was highly repeatable suggesting variation between the host individuals in their genetic or acquired control of the infections. In future studies, care must be taken to avoid mixed infections in wild caught donors, and when possible use mosquitoes for the experiments as inoculation of infectious blood ignores important initial stages of the contact between the bird and the parasite.}},
  author       = {{Zehtindjiev, Pavel and Ilieva, Mihaela and Westerdahl, Helena and Hansson, Bengt and Valkiunas, Gediminas and Bensch, Staffan}},
  issn         = {{0014-4894}},
  keywords     = {{Plasmodium; Acrocephalus arundinaceus; avian malaria; mixed infections; qPCR}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{99--110}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Experimental Parasitology}},
  title        = {{Dynamics of parasitemia of malaria parasites in a naturally and experimentally infected migratory songbird, the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2007.12.018}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.exppara.2007.12.018}},
  volume       = {{119}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}