Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorOkanga, Sharonen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorCumming, Graeme Sen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHockey, Philip A Ren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorNupen, Lisaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPeters, Jeffrey Len_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-11T14:28:47Z
dc.date.available2015-11-11T14:28:47Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.description.abstractHost and pathogen ecology are often closely linked, with evolutionary processes often leading to the development of host specificity traits in some pathogens. Host specificity may range from ‘generalist’, where pathogens infect any available competent host; to ‘specialist’, where pathogens repeatedly infect specific host species or families. Avian malaria ecology in the region remains largely unexplored, despite the presence of vulnerable endemic avian species. We analysed the expression of host specificity in avian haemosporidia, by applying a previously developed host specificity index to lineages isolated from wetland passerines in the Western Cape, South Africa. Parasite lineages were isolated using PCR and identified when possible using matching lineages deposited in GenBank and in MalAvi. Parasitic clades were constructed from phylogenetic trees consisting of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus lineages. Isolated lineages matched some strains of Plasmodium relictum , P. elongatum , Haemoproteus sylvae and H. lanii . Plasmodium lineages infected a wide range of hosts from several avian families in a generalist pattern of infection. Plasmodium spp. also exhibited an infection trend according to host abundance rather than host species. By contrast, Haemoproteus lineages were typically restricted to one or two host species or families, and displayed higher host fidelity than Plasmodium spp. The findings confirm that a range of host specificity traits are exhibited by avian haemosporidia in the region. The traits show the potential to not only impact infection prevalence within specific host species, but also to affect patterns of infection at the community level.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationOkanga, S., Cumming, G. S., Hockey, P. A. R., Nupen, L., & Peters, J. L. (2014). Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14929en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationOkanga, Sharon, Graeme S Cumming, Philip A R Hockey, Lisa Nupen, and Jeffrey L Peters "Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa." <i>PLoS One</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14929en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationOkanga, S., Cumming, G. S., Hockey, P. A., Nupen, L., & Peters, J. L. (2013). Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa. PloS one, 9(2), e86382. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086382en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Okanga, Sharon AU - Cumming, Graeme S AU - Hockey, Philip A R AU - Nupen, Lisa AU - Peters, Jeffrey L AB - Host and pathogen ecology are often closely linked, with evolutionary processes often leading to the development of host specificity traits in some pathogens. Host specificity may range from ‘generalist’, where pathogens infect any available competent host; to ‘specialist’, where pathogens repeatedly infect specific host species or families. Avian malaria ecology in the region remains largely unexplored, despite the presence of vulnerable endemic avian species. We analysed the expression of host specificity in avian haemosporidia, by applying a previously developed host specificity index to lineages isolated from wetland passerines in the Western Cape, South Africa. Parasite lineages were isolated using PCR and identified when possible using matching lineages deposited in GenBank and in MalAvi. Parasitic clades were constructed from phylogenetic trees consisting of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus lineages. Isolated lineages matched some strains of Plasmodium relictum , P. elongatum , Haemoproteus sylvae and H. lanii . Plasmodium lineages infected a wide range of hosts from several avian families in a generalist pattern of infection. Plasmodium spp. also exhibited an infection trend according to host abundance rather than host species. By contrast, Haemoproteus lineages were typically restricted to one or two host species or families, and displayed higher host fidelity than Plasmodium spp. The findings confirm that a range of host specificity traits are exhibited by avian haemosporidia in the region. The traits show the potential to not only impact infection prevalence within specific host species, but also to affect patterns of infection at the community level. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0086382 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa TI - Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14929 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14929
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086382
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationOkanga S, Cumming GS, Hockey PAR, Nupen L, Peters JL. Host specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa. PLoS One. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14929.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2014 Okanga et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHost-pathogen interactionsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPlasmodiumen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBirdsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHaemoproteusen_ZA
dc.subject.otherParasitic diseasesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPolymerase chain reactionen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPasserinesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAnimal phylogeneticsen_ZA
dc.titleHost specificity and co-speciation in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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