Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species
Abstract Background Amphibian trypanosomes were the first ever described trypanosomatids. Nevertheless, their taxonomy remains entangled because of pleomorphism and high prevalence of mixed infections. Despite the fact that the first species in this group were described in Europe, virtually none of...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Parasites & Vectors |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3023-1 |
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| author | Viktoria V. Spodareva Anastasiia Grybchuk-Ieremenko Alexander Losev Jan Votýpka Julius Lukeš Vyacheslav Yurchenko Alexei Yu Kostygov |
| author_facet | Viktoria V. Spodareva Anastasiia Grybchuk-Ieremenko Alexander Losev Jan Votýpka Julius Lukeš Vyacheslav Yurchenko Alexei Yu Kostygov |
| author_sort | Viktoria V. Spodareva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Amphibian trypanosomes were the first ever described trypanosomatids. Nevertheless, their taxonomy remains entangled because of pleomorphism and high prevalence of mixed infections. Despite the fact that the first species in this group were described in Europe, virtually none of the trypanosomes from European anurans was analyzed using modern molecular methods. Methods In this study, we explored the diversity and phylogeny of trypanosomes in true frogs from Europe using light microscopy and molecular methods. Results A comparison of observed morphotypes with previous descriptions allowed us to reliably identify three Trypanosoma spp., whereas the remaining two strains were considered to represent novel taxa. In all cases, more than one morphotype per blood sample was observed, indicating mixed infections. One hundred and thirty obtained 18S rRNA gene sequences were unambiguously subdivided into five groups, correspondent to the previously recognized or novel taxa of anuran trypanosomes. Conclusions In this work we studied European frog trypanosomes. Even with a relatively moderate number of isolates, we were able to find not only three well-known species, but also two apparently new ones. We revealed that previous assignments of multiple isolates from distant geographical localities to one species based on superficial resemblance were unjustified. Our work also demonstrated a high prevalence of mixed trypanosome infections in frogs and proposed a plausible scenario of evolution of the genus Trypanosoma. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T07:32:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b9a3ef8e032b4144ad2df1dad55b84d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1756-3305 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T07:32:29Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Parasites & Vectors |
| spelling | doaj.art-b9a3ef8e032b4144ad2df1dad55b84d22022-12-21T20:30:39ZengBMCParasites & Vectors1756-33052018-08-0111111210.1186/s13071-018-3023-1Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European speciesViktoria V. Spodareva0Anastasiia Grybchuk-Ieremenko1Alexander Losev2Jan Votýpka3Julius Lukeš4Vyacheslav Yurchenko5Alexei Yu Kostygov6Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of OstravaLife Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of OstravaSchmalhausen Institute of Zoology of National Academy of Sciences of UkraineDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityBiology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of SciencesLife Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of OstravaLife Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of OstravaAbstract Background Amphibian trypanosomes were the first ever described trypanosomatids. Nevertheless, their taxonomy remains entangled because of pleomorphism and high prevalence of mixed infections. Despite the fact that the first species in this group were described in Europe, virtually none of the trypanosomes from European anurans was analyzed using modern molecular methods. Methods In this study, we explored the diversity and phylogeny of trypanosomes in true frogs from Europe using light microscopy and molecular methods. Results A comparison of observed morphotypes with previous descriptions allowed us to reliably identify three Trypanosoma spp., whereas the remaining two strains were considered to represent novel taxa. In all cases, more than one morphotype per blood sample was observed, indicating mixed infections. One hundred and thirty obtained 18S rRNA gene sequences were unambiguously subdivided into five groups, correspondent to the previously recognized or novel taxa of anuran trypanosomes. Conclusions In this work we studied European frog trypanosomes. Even with a relatively moderate number of isolates, we were able to find not only three well-known species, but also two apparently new ones. We revealed that previous assignments of multiple isolates from distant geographical localities to one species based on superficial resemblance were unjustified. Our work also demonstrated a high prevalence of mixed trypanosome infections in frogs and proposed a plausible scenario of evolution of the genus Trypanosoma.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3023-1TrypanosomatidaeMixed infectionsEvolutionFrog trypanosomes |
| spellingShingle | Viktoria V. Spodareva Anastasiia Grybchuk-Ieremenko Alexander Losev Jan Votýpka Julius Lukeš Vyacheslav Yurchenko Alexei Yu Kostygov Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species Parasites & Vectors Trypanosomatidae Mixed infections Evolution Frog trypanosomes |
| title | Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species |
| title_full | Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species |
| title_fullStr | Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species |
| title_short | Diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes: insights from the study of European species |
| title_sort | diversity and evolution of anuran trypanosomes insights from the study of european species |
| topic | Trypanosomatidae Mixed infections Evolution Frog trypanosomes |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3023-1 |
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