Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome
Phenotypic polymorphism is a commonly observed phenomenon in nature, but extremely rare in free-living stages of parasites. We describe a unique case of somatic polymorphism in conspecific cercariae of the bird schistosome <i>Trichobilharzia</i> sp. “peregra”, in which two morphs, conspi...
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/3/290 |
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| author | Miroslava Soldánová Petra Kundid Tomáš Scholz Roar Kristoffersen Rune Knudsen |
| author_facet | Miroslava Soldánová Petra Kundid Tomáš Scholz Roar Kristoffersen Rune Knudsen |
| author_sort | Miroslava Soldánová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phenotypic polymorphism is a commonly observed phenomenon in nature, but extremely rare in free-living stages of parasites. We describe a unique case of somatic polymorphism in conspecific cercariae of the bird schistosome <i>Trichobilharzia</i> sp. “peregra”, in which two morphs, conspicuously different in their size, were released from a single <i>Radix balthica</i> snail. A detailed morphometric analysis that included multiple morphological parameters taken from 105 live and formalin-fixed cercariae isolated from several naturally infected snails provided reliable evidence for a division of all cercariae into two size groups that contained either large or small individuals. Large morph (total body length of 1368 and 1339 μm for live and formalin-fixed samples, respectively) differed significantly nearly in all morphological characteristics compared to small cercariae (total body length of 976 and 898 μm for live and formalin samples, respectively), regardless of the fixation method. Furthermore, we observed that small individuals represent the normal/commonly occurring phenotype in snail populations. The probable causes and consequences of generating an alternative, much larger phenotype in the parasite infrapopulation are discussed in the context of transmission ecology as possible benefits and disadvantages facilitating or preventing the successful completion of the life cycle. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:03:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b8f71f41ffe248f0966c06fdb8d9ae2f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:03:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8f71f41ffe248f0966c06fdb8d9ae2f2023-11-30T21:51:59ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172022-02-0111329010.3390/pathogens11030290Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird SchistosomeMiroslava Soldánová0Petra Kundid1Tomáš Scholz2Roar Kristoffersen3Rune Knudsen4Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech RepublicDepartment of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, NorwayDepartment of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, NorwayPhenotypic polymorphism is a commonly observed phenomenon in nature, but extremely rare in free-living stages of parasites. We describe a unique case of somatic polymorphism in conspecific cercariae of the bird schistosome <i>Trichobilharzia</i> sp. “peregra”, in which two morphs, conspicuously different in their size, were released from a single <i>Radix balthica</i> snail. A detailed morphometric analysis that included multiple morphological parameters taken from 105 live and formalin-fixed cercariae isolated from several naturally infected snails provided reliable evidence for a division of all cercariae into two size groups that contained either large or small individuals. Large morph (total body length of 1368 and 1339 μm for live and formalin-fixed samples, respectively) differed significantly nearly in all morphological characteristics compared to small cercariae (total body length of 976 and 898 μm for live and formalin samples, respectively), regardless of the fixation method. Furthermore, we observed that small individuals represent the normal/commonly occurring phenotype in snail populations. The probable causes and consequences of generating an alternative, much larger phenotype in the parasite infrapopulation are discussed in the context of transmission ecology as possible benefits and disadvantages facilitating or preventing the successful completion of the life cycle.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/3/290trematodescercariaebird schistosome<i>Trichobilharzia</i>polymorphismphenotype |
| spellingShingle | Miroslava Soldánová Petra Kundid Tomáš Scholz Roar Kristoffersen Rune Knudsen Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome Pathogens trematodes cercariae bird schistosome <i>Trichobilharzia</i> polymorphism phenotype |
| title | Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome |
| title_full | Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome |
| title_fullStr | Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome |
| title_short | Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome |
| title_sort | somatic dimorphism in cercariae of a bird schistosome |
| topic | trematodes cercariae bird schistosome <i>Trichobilharzia</i> polymorphism phenotype |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/3/290 |
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