A study of gregarine infections of tenebrionid beetles

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Title:Main Title: A study of gregarine infections of tenebrionid beetles
Description:Abstract: The estimation of protistan evolution rates and phylogeny is challenging because of the lack of paleontological findings due to their physique, size and chemical composition (Leaners et al. 1989; Pawlowski 1997; Hedges 2002 ). It is known that protistan parasites have much higher evolution rates than their hosts and many of those parasites are known to be host specific (Detwiler & Janovy 2008; Rickleffs & Outlaw 2010). The link between the evolution rates of hosts with protistan parasites could reveal new information about the mutation rates of the parasites and their evolutionary dynamics (Rickleffs & Outlaw 2010; Todaka et al. 2010, Valigurova 2012). One of those parasites are gregarines which are very frequently present in invertebrate organisms especially in arthopods (Owen 1970, Kuriyama 2005, Leander et al. 2003; Leander et al. 2006 ; Leander 2007, Schreurs & Janovy 2008). Gregarines have been studied by biologists since more than a century (Dufour 1828; Lieberkuhn 1853, Frenzel 1884; Frenzel 1885). They are protists which are thought to be the earliest lineage of apicomplexans and usually live in the digestive tract or body cavity of invertebrates (Goldschmidt 1914; Abro 1971; Clopton et al. 1992; Leander et al. 2003; Leander et al. 2006; Adl et al.2012) . There are many species who live in hosts of marine systems but also many invertebrates of terrestrial systems are carrying these parasites for they are usually transmitted by oral ingestion (Leander 2007; Detwiler & Janovy 2008 ). Gregarines are relatively large protistan parasites and have been separated into three categories based on morphological traits and habitats (Leander 2007; Clopton 2009; Desportes & Schrevel 2013). These are the archaegregarine, the eugregarines and the neogregarines (Valigurova 2012; Desportes & Schrevel 2013). As the members of the Apicomplexa they show various lifestages which differ in their shape and functionality and represent highly derived ultrastructural and behavioral adaptations (Clopton 2004; Leander 2008; Adl et al. 2012; Valigurova 2012). The gregarines are very dependent on their host nutritional condition concerning their reproduction and body structure (Schawang & Janovy 2000; Schreurs & Janovy 2008). Also the host is affected by the presence of gregarines , for they can increase the longevity and growth rate of the host organism (Valigurova 2012) when in other host-parasite relationships the gregarines cause a congestion of the digestive tube which turns out in the host death within a short period of time or a delayed developmental period ( Abro 1971; Hanka 2003; Mita et al. 2012). Without a host, they can only survive for a period of days or weeks for they are dependent on a lot of different environmental conditions like pH, salinity, temperature, protein content and carbohydrate content (Leidy 1853; Collins 1972, Clopton & Gold 1995, Valigurova 2012). Because of the limited methods a century ago, gregarines could only be described morphologically and for a long time no further research was performed. Later on the development of electron microscopy and molecular techniques caused the research concerning gregarines coming to a new level (Watwood et al. 1997; Leander et al. 2003; Leander 2007; Tempelton et al. 2010; Alarcon et al. 2011; Rueckert et al. 2011). Up to the to the year 1999 only two complete small-subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences were reported and from that on further studies were carried out (Carreno et al 1999; Leander et al 2003) . Especially in host species which are endemic to their habitat a co-evolution is assumed. There are many tenebrionid beetles which are endemic to certain regions of the world and should be therefore suitable organisms to investigate host specific coevolution with gregarines. With modern methods it is possible to investigate their phylogenetic relationships, diversity and adaptive characters (Löser 1991; Juan et al.1996, Lamb & Bond 2013). The Namib Desert and the Atacama Desert have been characterized by semi-arid conditions for millions of years and that has led to a very specialized adaptation of the darkling beetles there (Steckel et al. 2010; Violeta et al 2012). The mealworm Tenebrio molitor is used as a model organism in biology since more than a century. Also its parasites have been studied since a long time and the symbionts or parasites are still in the focus of many biological studies (Devauchelle 1968; Lord et al. 2012). There have been studies about parasite-insect interaction concerning beetles and nematodes (Mayer et al. 2009) where no influence on the beetles and no coevolution could be detected. Other studies suggest a close association of symbiotic protists in the guts of termites with a co-speciation (Grandcolas & Deleporte 1996; Radek 1996; Noda et al. 2009;) Here I present a molecular approach for the identification of darkling beetles and gregarines by developing a molecular method and subsequently analyze the produced DNA sequences. The results of the present study will be used for further research to answer the following hypothesis: Endemic tenebrionid beetle species from very old deserts carry new and specific species of gregarines due to the isolated habitats and the extreme conditions there. This should be an indicator for co-evolution and foundation for further studies in this matter.
Responsible Party
Creator:Nora Pack (Author)
Publisher:CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB)
Publication Year:2019
Topic
CRC1211 Topic:Biology
Related Subproject:B3
Subject:Keyword: Biodiversity
Geogr. Information Topic:Biota
File Details
Filename:Pack.pdf
Data Type:Text - Text
File Size:69 KB
Date:Available: 10.06.2014
Mime Type:application/pdf
Data Format:PDF
Language:English
Status:Completed
Constraints
Download Permission:Only Project Members
General Access and Use Conditions:According to the CRC1211DB data policy agreement.
Access Limitations:According to the CRC1211DB data policy agreement.
Licence:None
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Specific Information - Report
Report Date:10th of July, 2014
Report Type:Bachelor Thesis
Report City:Cologne
Report Institution:University of Cologne
Metadata Details
Metadata Creator:Frank Nitsche
Metadata Created:25.10.2019
Metadata Last Updated:25.10.2019
Subproject:B3
Funding Phase:1
Metadata Language:English
Metadata Version:V50
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