Adaptation of a Chytrid Parasite to Its Cyanobacterial Host Is Hampered by Host Intraspecific Diversity.

ABSTRACT: Experimental evolution can be used to test for and characterize parasite and pathogen adaptation. We undertook a serial-passage experiment in which a single parasite population of the obligate fungal (chytrid) parasite Rhizophydium megarrhizum was maintained over a period of 200 days under different mono- and multiclonal compositions of its phytoplankton host, the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Planktothrix. Despite initially inferior performance, parasite populations under sustained exposure to novel monoclonal hosts experienced rapid fitness increases evidenced by increased transmission rates. This demonstrates rapid adaptation of chytrids to novel hosts and highlights their high evolutionary potential. In contrast, increased fitness was not detected in parasites exposed to m

SUBMITTER: Agha R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5952108 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature