The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula
Coinfection of a host by more than 1 parasite is more common than single infection in wild environments and can have differing impacts, although coinfections have relatively rarely been quantified. Host immune responses to coinfection can contribute to infection costs but are often harder to predict...
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Cambridge University Press
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| Series: | Parasitology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182024000829/type/journal_article |
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| author | Ellie Lebeau Jenny C. Dunn |
| author_facet | Ellie Lebeau Jenny C. Dunn |
| author_sort | Ellie Lebeau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coinfection of a host by more than 1 parasite is more common than single infection in wild environments and can have differing impacts, although coinfections have relatively rarely been quantified. Host immune responses to coinfection can contribute to infection costs but are often harder to predict than those associated with single infection, due to the influence of within-host parasite–parasite interactions on infection virulence. To first quantify coinfection in a common bird species, and then to test for immune-related impacts of coinfection, we investigated the prevalence and immune response to avian haemosporidian (genera: Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) coinfection in wild blackbirds. Coinfection status was diagnosed using a 1-step multiplex polymerase chain reaction, immune response was quantified through white blood cell counts and heterophil: lymphocyte ratios, and parasitaemia was quantified for each infected sample. We detected high rates of haemosporidian infection and coinfection, although neither impacted immune activity, despite a significantly higher parasitaemia in individuals experiencing double vs single infection. This suggests that immune-related costs of haemosporidian single and coinfection are low in this system. This could be due to long-term host–parasite coevolution, which has decreased infection virulence, or a consequence of reduced costs associated with chronic infections compared to acute infections. Alternatively, our results may obscure immune-related costs associated with specific combinations of coinfecting haemosporidian genera, species or lineages. Future research should investigate interactions that occur between haemosporidian parasites within hosts, as well as the ways in which these interactions and resulting impacts may vary depending on parasite identity. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0031-1820 1469-8161 |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
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| series | Parasitology |
| spelling | doaj-art-3ebc5d11c5584fe79db0f1d2ddeedc0e2025-01-24T10:54:08ZengCambridge University PressParasitology0031-18201469-816111010.1017/S0031182024000829The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merulaEllie Lebeau0Jenny C. Dunn1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6277-2781Joseph Banks Laboratories, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UKJoseph Banks Laboratories, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UKCoinfection of a host by more than 1 parasite is more common than single infection in wild environments and can have differing impacts, although coinfections have relatively rarely been quantified. Host immune responses to coinfection can contribute to infection costs but are often harder to predict than those associated with single infection, due to the influence of within-host parasite–parasite interactions on infection virulence. To first quantify coinfection in a common bird species, and then to test for immune-related impacts of coinfection, we investigated the prevalence and immune response to avian haemosporidian (genera: Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) coinfection in wild blackbirds. Coinfection status was diagnosed using a 1-step multiplex polymerase chain reaction, immune response was quantified through white blood cell counts and heterophil: lymphocyte ratios, and parasitaemia was quantified for each infected sample. We detected high rates of haemosporidian infection and coinfection, although neither impacted immune activity, despite a significantly higher parasitaemia in individuals experiencing double vs single infection. This suggests that immune-related costs of haemosporidian single and coinfection are low in this system. This could be due to long-term host–parasite coevolution, which has decreased infection virulence, or a consequence of reduced costs associated with chronic infections compared to acute infections. Alternatively, our results may obscure immune-related costs associated with specific combinations of coinfecting haemosporidian genera, species or lineages. Future research should investigate interactions that occur between haemosporidian parasites within hosts, as well as the ways in which these interactions and resulting impacts may vary depending on parasite identity.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182024000829/type/journal_articlecoinfectionHaemoproteushaemosporidianimmune responseLeucocytozoonPCRPlasmodium |
| spellingShingle | Ellie Lebeau Jenny C. Dunn The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula Parasitology coinfection Haemoproteus haemosporidian immune response Leucocytozoon PCR Plasmodium |
| title | The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula |
| title_full | The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula |
| title_fullStr | The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula |
| title_full_unstemmed | The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula |
| title_short | The prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula |
| title_sort | prevalence and immune response to coinfection by avian haemosporidians in wild eurasian blackbirds turdus merula |
| topic | coinfection Haemoproteus haemosporidian immune response Leucocytozoon PCR Plasmodium |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182024000829/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ellielebeau theprevalenceandimmuneresponsetocoinfectionbyavianhaemosporidiansinwildeurasianblackbirdsturdusmerula AT jennycdunn theprevalenceandimmuneresponsetocoinfectionbyavianhaemosporidiansinwildeurasianblackbirdsturdusmerula AT ellielebeau prevalenceandimmuneresponsetocoinfectionbyavianhaemosporidiansinwildeurasianblackbirdsturdusmerula AT jennycdunn prevalenceandimmuneresponsetocoinfectionbyavianhaemosporidiansinwildeurasianblackbirdsturdusmerula |