Interspecific competition in honeybee intracellular gut parasites is asymmetric and favours the spread of an emerging infectious disease.

ABSTRACT: There is increasing appreciation that hosts in natural populations are subject to infection by multiple parasite species. Yet the epidemiological and ecological processes determining the outcome of mixed infections are poorly understood. Here, we use two intracellular gut parasites (Microsporidia), one exotic and one co-evolved in the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), in an experiment in which either one or both parasites were administered either simultaneously or sequentially. We provide clear evidence of within-host competition; order of infection was an important determinant of the competitive outcome between parasites, with the first parasite significantly inhibiting the growth of the second, regardless of species. However, the strength of this 'priority effect' was highly asymmetric,

SUBMITTER: Natsopoulou ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4262169 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature