Publication details
Population structure of the gill monogeneans of Cyprinidae
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Despite advances in population genomics, the demographic structure of parasites is still underexplored, especially for parasites of wild-living vertebrates. Microsatellite markers, commonly used for population genetics studies, are applied marginally when studying parasite populations. Dactylogyrus vistulae and D. folkmanovae are monogeneans infecting the gills of freshwater fish, and little is known about their population genetics. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of these parasites in river systems of the Czech Republic using microsatellite markers. The study also aimed to investigate whether the population structure of monogeneans is affected by host specificity and/or life history traits. The results suggest both species are genetically diverse, and the population structure of the parasites reflects, to some extent, the geographic distribution of the hosts. Five cyprinoid fish species from 35 localities in three major river basins were examined for Dactylogyrus species, and parasite populations with at least 15 collected individuals were used for the analyses. Host tissue was sampled from 15 individuals per site to compare the host population structure with that of the parasites. To study genetic variability and population structure were applied 24 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the parasites and 11 markers for the hosts. Bayesian cluster analyses and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) were used for data analyses. The results indicate that both species are genetically diverse and suggest that the population structure of the parasites reflects, to some extent, the geographic distribution of the hosts. The observed variation may reflect host translocation between watersheds following stream management. |