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A comparative analysis of the dynamics of Plasmodium relictum (GRW4) development in the blood during single and co-infections

Aželytė, Justė ; Platonova, Elena ; Bensch, Staffan LU ; Hellgren, Olof LU and Palinauskas, Vaidas (2022) In Acta Tropica 226.
Abstract

Although co-infections and interactions of parasites are a very common phenomenon in the wild, information received from studies on avian Plasmodium spp. is scarce and fragmented due to its complex nature. Different interactions of parasites and domination of one parasite may have a detrimental effect on transmission success of another pathogen. Untangling these interactions and competitive behavior of malarial parasites may help understanding why some haemosporidian parasites are dominant in certain host species, while others are observed only occasionally. We investigated the development of Plasmodium relictum (genetic lineage GRW4) during single and co-infection with a closely related lineage SGS1, with the aim to determine whether... (More)

Although co-infections and interactions of parasites are a very common phenomenon in the wild, information received from studies on avian Plasmodium spp. is scarce and fragmented due to its complex nature. Different interactions of parasites and domination of one parasite may have a detrimental effect on transmission success of another pathogen. Untangling these interactions and competitive behavior of malarial parasites may help understanding why some haemosporidian parasites are dominant in certain host species, while others are observed only occasionally. We investigated the development of Plasmodium relictum (genetic lineage GRW4) during single and co-infection with a closely related lineage SGS1, with the aim to determine whether co-infections affect parasite development and condition of experimentally infected Eurasian siskins (Spinus spinus). For the experimental study of these two closely related lineages, a new qPCR protocol was designed to accurately quantify the parasitemia, i.e. the amount of infected red blood cells, during the blood stages of each of the lineages. Our results show that during co-infection, GRW4 parasitemia was transient and disappeared from peripheral blood during acute increases of SGS1. Health parameters of infected birds did not differ between the GRW4 single infected group and the co-infection group. GRW4 induced infection was outcompeted and suppressed by the presence of the lineage SGS1, which is broadly transmitted in Northern Europe. This suggests that double infections and dominating lineages in the area may influence the transmission success of some avian Plasmodium parasites.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Avian malaria, Co-infection, GRW4, SGS1, Siskin, Transmission
in
Acta Tropica
volume
226
article number
106247
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85119909741
  • pmid:34801479
ISSN
0001-706X
DOI
10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106247
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5e31a03f-a380-4d08-b99a-f8b9689f6496
date added to LUP
2021-12-15 10:38:16
date last changed
2024-06-15 22:43:34
@article{5e31a03f-a380-4d08-b99a-f8b9689f6496,
  abstract     = {{<p>Although co-infections and interactions of parasites are a very common phenomenon in the wild, information received from studies on avian Plasmodium spp. is scarce and fragmented due to its complex nature. Different interactions of parasites and domination of one parasite may have a detrimental effect on transmission success of another pathogen. Untangling these interactions and competitive behavior of malarial parasites may help understanding why some haemosporidian parasites are dominant in certain host species, while others are observed only occasionally. We investigated the development of Plasmodium relictum (genetic lineage GRW4) during single and co-infection with a closely related lineage SGS1, with the aim to determine whether co-infections affect parasite development and condition of experimentally infected Eurasian siskins (Spinus spinus). For the experimental study of these two closely related lineages, a new qPCR protocol was designed to accurately quantify the parasitemia, i.e. the amount of infected red blood cells, during the blood stages of each of the lineages. Our results show that during co-infection, GRW4 parasitemia was transient and disappeared from peripheral blood during acute increases of SGS1. Health parameters of infected birds did not differ between the GRW4 single infected group and the co-infection group. GRW4 induced infection was outcompeted and suppressed by the presence of the lineage SGS1, which is broadly transmitted in Northern Europe. This suggests that double infections and dominating lineages in the area may influence the transmission success of some avian Plasmodium parasites.</p>}},
  author       = {{Aželytė, Justė and Platonova, Elena and Bensch, Staffan and Hellgren, Olof and Palinauskas, Vaidas}},
  issn         = {{0001-706X}},
  keywords     = {{Avian malaria; Co-infection; GRW4; SGS1; Siskin; Transmission}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Acta Tropica}},
  title        = {{A comparative analysis of the dynamics of Plasmodium relictum (GRW4) development in the blood during single and co-infections}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106247}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106247}},
  volume       = {{226}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}