| 1. |
- Drobniak, Szymon M., et al.
(author)
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Habitat shapes diversity of gut microbiomes in a wild population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus
- 2022
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In: Journal of Avian Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 2022:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microbiome constitutes an important axis of individual variation that, together with genes and the environment, influences an individual's physiology and fitness. Microbiomes are dependent not only on an individual's body condition but also on external factors, such as diet or stress levels, and as such can be involved into feedbacks between the external ecological factors and internal physiology. In our study, we used a wild population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus to investigate the impact of external habitat composition on the microbiome of adult birds. We hypothesized that - through differences in plant composition, potentially affecting diet complexity - habitat type may impact the diversity and structure of the gut microbiome. Blue tits breeding in dense deciduous forests tended to have more diverse microbiomes and be significantly different in terms of microbiome composition from birds breeding in open, sparsely forested hay meadows. Distinct study plots also tended to differ in a number of parameters describing microbiome diversity. We observed no microbiome differentiation according to individual characteristics such as sex or age. The study emphasizes that external environment is one of the important modulators of microbiome diversity and calls for more such studies in wild animal populations.
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| 2. |
- Dubiec, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Differential prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites in two sympatric closely related nonmigratory passerines
- 2016
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In: Parasitology. - 0031-1820 .- 1469-8161. ; 143:10, s. 1320-1329
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Haemosporidian parasites infecting birds show distinct heterogeneity in their distribution among host species. However, despite numerous studies on the prevalence and diversity of parasite communities across species, very little is known on patterns of differences between them. Such data is lacking because up to date the majority of studies explored the patterns of variation in infections in different years, different time of sampling within a year or a breeding cycle, different study sites or was based on a small sample size, all of which may affect the estimates of prevalence and parasite diversity. Here, the prevalence, richness and diversity of haemosporidian parasites from the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus were studied in two closely related non-migratory hole-nesting passerines: Great Tits and Blue Tits. Birds were sampled in sympatrically breeding populations during two seasons at the same stage of their breeding cycle - late nestling care. Great Tits were more prevalently infected with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasites (97.1 vs 71.2%), harboured a higher proportion of multiple infections (26.2 vs 3.2%) and had a more diverse parasite community (11 vs 5 parasite lineages) than Blue Tits. Observed differences between two host species are discussed with reference to their breeding densities and immunological and behavioural characteristics.
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| 3. |
- Radwan, Jacek, et al.
(author)
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MHC diversity, malaria and lifetime reproductive success in collared flycatchers
- 2012
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In: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 21:10, s. 2469-2479
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins involved in the recognition of parasite-derived antigens. Their extreme polymorphism is presumed to be driven by co-evolution with parasites. Hostparasite co-evolution was also hypothesized to optimize within-individual MHC diversity at the intermediate level. Here, we use unique data on lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of female collared flycatchers to test whether LRS is associated with within-individual MHC class II diversity. We also examined the association between MHC and infection with avian malaria. Using 454 sequencing, we found that individual flycatchers carry between 3 and 23 functional MHC class II B alleles. Predictions of the optimality hypothesis were not confirmed by our data as the prevalence of blood parasites decreased with functional MHC diversity. Furthermore, we did not find evidence for an association between MHC diversity and LRS.
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| 4. |
- Zagalska-Neubauer, Magdalena, et al.
(author)
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454 sequencing reveals extreme complexity of the class II Major Histocompatibility Complex in the collared flycatcher
- 2010
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In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 10:1, s. 395-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Because of their functional significance, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I and II genes have been the subject of continuous interest in the fields of ecology, evolution and conservation. In some vertebrate groups MHC consists of multiple loci with similar alleles; therefore, the multiple loci must be genotyped simultaneously. In such complex systems, understanding of the evolutionary patterns and their causes has been limited due to challenges posed by genotyping. Results: Here we used 454 amplicon sequencing to characterize MHC class IIB exon 2 variation in the collared flycatcher, an important organism in evolutionary and immuno-ecological studies. On the basis of over 152,000 sequencing reads we identified 194 putative alleles in 237 individuals. We found an extreme complexity of the MHC class IIB in the collared flycatchers, with our estimates pointing to the presence of at least nine expressed loci and a large, though difficult to estimate precisely, number of pseudogene loci. Many similar alleles occurred in the pseudogenes indicating either a series of recent duplications or extensive concerted evolution. The expressed alleles showed unambiguous signals of historical selection and the occurrence of apparent interlocus exchange of alleles. Placing the collared flycatcher's MHC sequences in the context of passerine diversity revealed transspecific MHC class II evolution within the Muscicapidae family. Conclusions: 454 amplicon sequencing is an effective tool for advancing our understanding of the MHC class II structure and evolutionary patterns in Passeriformes. We found a highly dynamic pattern of evolution of MHC class IIB genes with strong signals of selection and pronounced sequence divergence in expressed genes, in contrast to the apparent sequence homogenization in pseudogenes. We show that next generation sequencing offers a universal, affordable method for the characterization and, in perspective, genotyping of MHC systems of virtually any complexity.
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| 5. |
- Zagalska-Neubauer, Magdalena, et al.
(author)
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High prevalence of Leucocytozoon parasites in fresh water breeding gulls
- 2016
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In: Journal of Ornithology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2193-7192 .- 2193-7206. ; 157:2, s. 525-532
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Seabirds are regarded as a group of species with relatively low levels or even complete lack of blood parasites. We used PCR to amplify a DNA fragment from the cytochrome b gene of the parasites to search for infections of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon in individuals of two sympatrically breeding gull species, the Herring Gull Larus argentatus, the Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans and their hybrids. Out of 56 analysed individuals, 53 (95 %) were identified as infected with Leucocytozoon, whereas three individuals carried double and triple infections with at least one Leucocytozoon and one Plasmodium lineages. No Haemoproteus lineage was detected. The most common lineage (LARCAC02), for the first time reported here, was found in 51 (96 %) of all infected birds, and 14 gulls carried two Leucocytozoon lineages. We analysed the evolutionary relationship of Leucocytozoon lineages from the Herring and Caspian Gull and other bird species. Our results show that (1) the two identified Leucocytozoon lineages are not closely related as they belong to two distinctly different clusters. Moreover, (2) seabirds breeding inland could be highly infected with blood parasites and (3) this high prevalence is probably associated with areas where parasite vectors are abundant. Further studies should explore the importance of environmental factors affecting parasite prevalence, in particular within species comparisons under different environment conditions, including vector monitoring and sampling.
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