Retardation of Breeding Onset in Great Tits (Parus major) by Blood Parasites

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 677 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Allander ◽  
G. F. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Blood Parasites

scholarly journals Haemosporidian infections affect antioxidant defences in great tits Parus major but are not related to exposure to aerial pollutants

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIELA DE ANGELI DUTRA ◽  
PATRÍCIA SILVEIRA ◽  
JAIME ALBINO RAMOS ◽  
JOSÉ PAULO SOUSA ◽  
ÉRIKA MARTINS BRAGA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Parasite Prevalence ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Pulp Mills ◽  
Antioxidant Defences ◽  
Extrinsic Factors

SUMMARY Haemosporidian parasites are widespread in avian species and modulate their ecology, behaviour, life-history and fitness. The prevalence of these vector-transmitted parasites varies with host intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as host resistance and behaviour, and habitat-related characteristics. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of avian haemosporidians in great tit Parus major populations inhabiting two areas with different degrees of exposure to aerial emissions from pulp mills, to assess if this type of pollution impacted parasite prevalence. We also compared the physiological condition of infected and uninfected individuals. Haemosporidian infection prevalence was high (58%), varied seasonally, but was not associated with air pollution exposure. Fledged birds presented higher infection rates than nestlings and infected fledged birds had higher levels of blood glutathione peroxidase activity. These results allow us to infer that infection by blood parasites may activate antioxidant defences, possibly to protect the organism from the negative oxidative stress side-effects of immune activation against parasites. Because oxidative stress is one of the mechanisms responsible for ageing and senescence and may affect fitness, the relationship between parasitism and oxidative stress markers should be further investigated through studies that include experimental manipulation of infection in model organisms.

scholarly journals Exploring the unmapped DNA and RNA reads in a songbird genome

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika N. Laine ◽  
Toni I. Gossmann ◽  
Kees van Oers ◽  
Marcel E. Visser ◽  
Martien A.M. Groenen
Keyword(s):  
Reference Genome ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Sequence Contigs ◽  
Unmapped Reads

AbstractBackgroundA widely used approach in next-generation sequencing projects is the alignment of reads to a reference genome. A significant percentage of reads, however, frequently remain unmapped despite improvements in the methods and hardware, which have enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of alignments. Usually unmapped reads are discarded from the analysis process, but significant biological information and insights can be uncovered from this data. We explored the unmapped DNA (normal and bisulfite treated) and RNA sequence reads of the great tit (Parus major) reference genome individual. From the unmapped reads we generated de novo assemblies. The generated sequence contigs were then aligned to the NCBI non-redundant nucleotide database using BLAST, identifying the closest known matching sequence.ResultsMany of the aligned contigs showed sequence similarity to sequences from different bird species and genes that were absent in the great tit reference assembly. Furthermore, there were also contigs that represented known P. major pathogenic species. Most interesting were several species of blood parasites such as Plasmodium and Trypanosoma.ConclusionsOur analyses revealed that meaningful biological information can be found when further exploring unmapped reads. It is possible to discover sequences that are either absent or misassembled in the reference genome and sequences that indicate infection or sample contamination. In this study we also propose strategies to aid the capture and interpretation of this information from unmapped reads.

Identification of Blood Parasites in Individuals from Six Families of Freshwater Turtles

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Nordmeyer ◽  
Gina Henry ◽  
Trina Guerra ◽  
David Rodriguez ◽  
Michael R.J. Forstner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Freshwater Turtles

Great Tit (Parus major)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Gosler ◽  
Peter Clement ◽  
David Christie
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit

scholarly journals Prevalence and genetic diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites in wild bird species of the order Columbiformes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne R. Schumm ◽  
Dimitris Bakaloudis ◽  
Christos Barboutis ◽  
Jacopo G. Cecere ◽  
Cyril Eraud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Phylogenetic Reconstruction ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Migration Strategy ◽  
Haemosporidian Parasites ◽  
Multiplex Pcr Assay ◽  
And Migration

AbstractDiseases can play a role in species decline. Among them, haemosporidian parasites, vector-transmitted protozoan parasites, are known to constitute a risk for different avian species. However, the magnitude of haemosporidian infection in wild columbiform birds, including strongly decreasing European turtle doves, is largely unknown. We examined the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and subgenera Haemoproteus and Parahaemoproteus in six species of the order Columbiformes during breeding season and migration by applying nested PCR, one-step multiplex PCR assay and microscopy. We detected infections in 109 of the 259 screened individuals (42%), including 15 distinct haemosporidian mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages, representing five H. (Haemoproteus), two H. (Parahaemoproteus), five Leucocytozoon and three Plasmodium lineages. Five of these lineages have never been described before. We discriminated between single and mixed infections and determined host species-specific prevalence for each parasite genus. Observed differences among sampled host species are discussed with reference to behavioural characteristics, including nesting and migration strategy. Our results support previous suggestions that migratory birds have a higher prevalence and diversity of blood parasites than resident or short-distance migratory species. A phylogenetic reconstruction provided evidence for H. (Haemoproteus) as well as H. (Parahaemoproteus) infections in columbiform birds. Based on microscopic examination, we quantified parasitemia, indicating the probability of negative effects on the host. This study provides a large-scale baseline description of haemosporidian infections of wild birds belonging to the order Columbiformes sampled in the northern hemisphere. The results enable the monitoring of future changes in parasite transmission areas, distribution and diversity associated with global change, posing a potential risk for declining avian species as the European turtle dove.

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