Publication details
Koevolučné vzťahy medzi hostiteľský špecifickými motolicovcami (Dactylogyrus) a kaprovitými rybami v Stredomorí
| Title in English | Co-evolutionary Relationships Between Host-Specific Monogeneans (Dactylogyrus) and Cyprinoid Fish in the Mediterranean |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Citation | |
| Description | Over evolutionary time, parasites tend to become increasingly specialized to their hosts. This gradual specialization can potentially lead to high host specificity, where a parasite is capable of infesting only a single host species. Closely related to this concept is Fahrenholz's rule, which suggests that parasites and their hosts co-speciate harmoniously over long periods, meaning that the phylogeny of a parasitic group should ultimately mirror the phylogeny of their hosts. A similar principle underlies the co-phylogenetic approach, which allows researchers to gain insights into the evolutionary history of hosts by studying the evolutionary history of their parasites. A suitable model organism for such studies appears to be monogeneans of the genus Dactylogyrus, which strictly parasitize cyprinid fish and exhibit high host specificity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the co-phylogenetic relationships between selected endemic cyprinid fish species from southern Europe and northern Africa and their specific parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus. Between 2014 and 2019, we collected parasitological material from 34 endemic fish species belonging to the family Cyprinidae. Based on morphological characteristics and supported by DNA sequencing of three genetic markers, we identified 29 species of Dactylogyrus. Co-phylogenetic analyses revealed a significant coevolutionary signal in this parasite-host system. Further testing of different hypothetical models suggested that host switching plays a crucial role in the evolution of Dactylogyrus parasites. As a result, the present distribution of different lineages appears to be strongly influenced by the historical formation of continental bridges connecting North Africa and Southern Europe. Moreover, phylogenetic relationships among individual lineages suggest that Dactylogyrus parasites in southern Europe have multiple independent origins. |
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