Host-parasite interactions in hybridizing Daphnia, from correlations to experiments
Final Report Abstract
Eutrophication is a global environmental problem that is accelerated by global warming. It affects the stability of aquatic ecosystems and has long-term consequences. In this research project, we investigated whether and how eutrophication influences two interacting evolutionary processes: disease spread and interspecific hybridization. We investigated the influence of eutrophication on host-parasite interactions in a species complex of hybridizing water fleas and on the hybridization success per se. We used water fleas (Daphnia) as the hybridizing host and the Daphnia intestinal parasite "Caullerya" as the pathogen. This "Lead Agency Project" was a collaboration between a research team from Germany (Wolinska: IGB / FU) and one from Switzerland (Spaak: Eawag). We combined field studies from lakes Greifensee (CH) and Müggelsee (DE) with experimental studies (e.g. in twenty test ponds (CH), or under laboratory settings (DE)). We used molecular techniques to investigate the transcription profiles of the stressed water fleas and to follow the evolution of host in infected populations. Moreover, we generated the first genomic data available for the model parasite species, Caullerya. Overall, we showed that eutrophication promotes hybridization, and it likewise promotes disease spread of some, but not all, Daphnia pathogens. We also demonstrated how interactions between foundation species cause surprisingly strong deviations from the expected responses of aquatic ecosystems to perturbations such as nutrient additions. This project, which resulted from a close collaboration between Swiss and German science teams, will further our understanding of the impact of environmental conditions on evolutionary processes in natural systems. We published a popular article about our research, which is freely available: Spaak, P., and J. Wolinska. 2020. How does hybridization affect ecological processes? EU Research Autumn: 48-49 (https://issuu.com/euresearcher/docs/host-parasite_interactions_in_hybridizing_daphnia_).
Publications
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2018. Daphnia galeata responds to the exposure to an ichthyosporean gut parasite by down-regulation of immunity and lipid metabolism. BMC Genomics. - 19(2018)932
Yameng Lu; Paul R. Johnston; Stuart R. Dennis; Michael T. Monaghan; Uwe John; Piet Spaak; Justyna Wolinska
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2018. Parasites driving host diversity: incidence of disease correlated with Daphnia clonal turnover. Evolution. - 72(2018)3, S. 619-629
Patrick Turko; Christoph Tellenbach; Esther Keller; Nadine Tardent; Barbara Keller; Piet Spaak; Justyna Wolinska
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2019. Daphnia galeata and D. dentifera are geographically and ecologically separated whereas their hybrids occur in intermediate habitats: a survey of 44 Chinese lakes. Molecular Ecology. - 28(2019)4, S. 785-802
Xiaolin Ma; Wei Hu; Petr Smilauer; Mingbo Yin; Justyna Wolinska
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2019. Using DNA from formaldehyde-preserved Daphnia to reconstruct past populations. Hydrobiologia. - 841(2019)1, S. 153-161
Patrick Turko; Justyna Wolinska; Christoph Tellenbach; Marcin Krzysztof Dziuba; Marie-Eve Monchamp; Piet Spaak
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2020. Revisiting the phylogenetic position of Caullerya mesnili (Ichthyosporea), a common Daphnia parasite, based on 22 protein-coding genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - 151(2020)October, 10689
Yameng Lu; Eduard Ocaña-Pallarès; David López-Escardó; Stuart R. Dennis; Michael T. Monaghan; Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo; Piet Spaak; Justyna Wolinska
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2020. Temperature and host diet jointly influence the outcome of infection in a Daphnia-fungal parasite system. Freshwater Biology. - 65(2020)4, S. 757-767
Florent Manzi; Ramsy Agha; Yameng Lu; Frida Ben-Ami; Justyna Wolinska
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2021. Non-additive effects of foundation species determine the response of aquatic ecosystems to nutrient perturbation. Ecology: e03371
Moritz Lurig; Anita Narwani; Hannele Penson; Bernhart Wehrli; Piet Spaak; Blake Matthews
