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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2009, p. 7051-7059, Vol. 75, No. 22
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01306-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Identification and Hidden Diversity of Novel Daphnia Parasites from European Lakes{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Justyna Wolinska,* Sabine Giessler, and Henrike Koerner

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Department Biologie II, Evolutionsökologie, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany

Received 5 June 2009/ Accepted 13 September 2009

Parasites play important roles in local population dynamics and genetic structure. However, due to insufficient diagnostic tools, detailed host-parasite interactions may remain concealed by hidden parasite diversity in natural systems. Microscopic examination of 19 European lake Daphnia populations revealed the presence of three groups of parasites: fungi, microsporidia, and oomycetes. For most of these parasites no genetic markers have been described so far. Based on sequence similarities of the nuclear small-subunit and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA gene regions, one fungus, four microsporidian, and nine oomycete taxa were discovered in 147 infected Daphnia (and/or three other zooplankton crustaceans). Additionally, cloning of rRNA gene regions revealed parasite sequence variation within host individuals. This was most pronounced in the ITS region of one microsporidian taxon, where the within-host sequence variation ranged from 1.7% to 5.3% polymorphic sites for parasite isolates from 14 different geographical locations. Interestingly, the parasite isolates from close locations grouped together based on sequence similarities, suggesting that there was parasite dispersal. Taken together, the data obtained in this study revealed hidden diversity of parasite communities in Daphnia lake populations. Moreover, a higher level of resolution for identifying parasite strains makes it possible to test new hypotheses with respect to parasite dispersal, transmission routes, and coinfection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Department Biologie II, Evolutionsökologie, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany. Phone: 49 (0)89 2180 74201. Fax: 49 (0)89 2180 74204. E-mail: wolinska{at}bio.lmu.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 18 September 2009.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2009, p. 7051-7059, Vol. 75, No. 22
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01306-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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