Apparent vector-mediated parent-to-offspring transmission in an avian malaria-like parasite.

Parasite transmission strategies strongly impact host-parasite co-evolution and virulence. However, studies of vector-borne parasites such as avian malaria have neglected the potential effects of host relatedness on the exchange of parasites. To test whether extended parental care in the presence of vectors increases the probability of transmission from parents to offspring, we used high-throughput sequencing to develop microsatellites for malaria-like Leucocytozoon parasites of a wild raptor population.

Variation at phenological candidate genes correlates with timing of dispersal and plumage morph in a sedentary bird of prey.

Polymorphic genes involved in the conserved molecular signalling of circadian and circannual clocks may play important roles in governing the timing of breeding and dispersal and thereby affect fitness in vertebrates. However, relatively few studies have explored associations between phenological candidate genes and behaviour, and these are somewhat biased towards particular taxonomic groups such as passerine birds and salmonid fish. Consequently, we assayed microsatellite polymorphisms within the exonic and 3' untranslated regions of the regulatory genes CLOCK, NPAS2, ADCYAP1 and CREB1 in the common buzzard (Buteo buteo), a polymorphic raptor species with three plumage morphs that differ in key life history traits including lifetime reproductive success.

Label-free enrichment of avian Leucocytozoon using flow cytometric sorting.

The group of haemosporidian parasites is of general interest to basic and applied science, since several species infect mammals, leading to malaria and associated disease symptoms. Although the great majority of haemosporidian parasites appear in bird hosts, as in the case of Leucocytozoon buteonis, there is little genomic information about genetic aspects of their co-evolution with hosts. Consequently, there is a high need for parasite-enrichment strategies enabling further analyses of the genomes, namely without exposure to DNA-intercalating dyes.

Why do parasitic cuckoos have small brains? Insights from evolutionary sequence analyses.

Brain size is under many opposing selection pressures. Estimating their relative influence and reconstructing the brain's evolutionary history have, however, proved difficult. Here, we confirm the suggestion that the brain of brood parasitic cuckoos is smaller in relation to their body weight than that of nonparasitic cuckoo species.