Schistosoma japonicum, a parasite of significant public health importance in parts of China and Southeast Asia, is a true generalist pathogen with over 40 species of mammals suspected as definitive host reservoirs. In order to characterize levels of parasite gene flow across host species and identify the most important zoonotic reservoirs, S. japonicum larvae (miracidia) were sampled from a range of definitive host species in two contrasting habitat types within Anhui Province, China: a low-lying marshland region, and a hilly region, where animal reservoir populations may be predicted to differ substantially. Miracidia samples were genotyped using seven multiplexed microsatellite markers. Hierarchical F-statistics and clustering analyses revealed substantial geographical structuring of S. japonicum populations within Anhui, with strong parasite genetic differentiation between habitat types. Within most villages, there was very little or no parasite genetic differentiation among host species, suggesting frequent S. japonicum gene flow, and thus also transmission, across species. Moreover, the data provide novel molecular evidence that rodents and dogs are potentially very important infection reservoirs in hilly regions, in contrast to bovines in the marshland regions. The parasite genetic differentiation between habitat types might therefore be associated with contrasting host reservoirs. The high levels of parasite gene flow observed across host species in sympatric areas have important implications for S. japonicum control, particularly in hilly regions where control of infection among wild rodent populations could be challenging.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04181.x | DOI Listing |
Plant Dis
January 2025
USDA-ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Brookings, South Dakota, United States;
Soilborne diseases are persistent problems in soybean production. Long-term crop rotation can contribute to soilborne disease management. However, the response of soilborne pathogens to crop rotation is inconsistent, and rotation efficacy is highly variable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Aix-Marseille Université-CNRS UMR 7283, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée and Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille 13009, France.
Despite growing awareness of their importance in soil ecology, the genetic and physiological traits of bacterial predators are still relatively poorly understood. In the course of a predator evolution experiment, we identified a class of genotypes leading to enhanced predation against diverse species. RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that this phenotype is linked to the constitutive activation of a predation-specific program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Circuito Metropolitano Sur, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, Mexico.
The community assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the rhizosphere results from the recruitment and selection of different AMF species with different functional traits. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between biotic and abiotic factors and the AMF community assembly in the rhizosphere of four secondary vegetation (SV) plant species in a temperate forest. We selected four sites at two altitudes, and we marked five individuals per plant species at each site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInorg Chem
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.
The hydrothermal synthesis of novel materials typically relies on both knowledge of the redox activities of all cations present in the reaction solution and a small toolset of so-called mineralizers to tune the solution's overall chemical potential. Upon the use of a less conventional mineralizer species, SiO, we show the stabilization of spiroffite-type CoTeO under less forceful hydrothermal conditions than those in previous reports. When synthesized in the presence of both SiO and each respective alkali carbonate as a secondary mineralizer, silicon substitution in place of tellurium in the host structure becomes apparent, and the corresponding disorder introduced gives rise to enhanced low-temperature ferromagnetism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Chem Ecol
January 2025
Department of Nematology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Plants produce defensive toxins to deter herbivores. In response, some specialized herbivores evolved resistance and even the capacity to sequester toxins, affecting interactions at higher trophic levels. Here, we test the hypothesis that potential natural enemies of specialized herbivores are differentially affected by plant toxins depending on their level of adaptation to the plant-herbivore system.
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