Testing parasite 'intimacy': the whipworm Trichuris muris in the European house mouse hybrid zone.

ABSTRACT: Host-parasite interaction studies across hybrid zones often focus on host genetic variation, treating parasites as homogeneous. 'Intimately' associated hosts and parasites might be expected to show similar patterns of genetic structure. In the literature, factors such as no intermediate host and no free-living stage have been proposed as 'intimacy' factors likely constraining parasites to closely follow the evolutionary history of their hosts. To test whether the whipworm, Trichuris muris, is intimately associated with its house mouse host, we studied its population genetics across the European house mouse hybrid zone (HMHZ) which has a strong central barrier to gene flow between mouse taxa. T. muris has a direct life cycle and nonmobile free stage: if these traits constrain the parasite t

SUBMITTER: Wasimuddin 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4798833 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature