Journal
PARASITOLOGY
Volume 136, Issue 14, Pages 1901-1914Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182009991818
Keywords
Microsporidia; Microspora; vertical transmission; ecology; evolution
Categories
Funding
- NERC [NE/D012937/1, NE/D01087X/1, NE/D011000/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/D012937/1, NE/D011000/1, NE/D01087X/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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The phylum Microspora is ancient and diverse and affects a wide range of hosts. There is unusually high use of vertical transmission and this has significant consequences for transmission and pathogenicity. Vertical transmission is associated with low pathogenesis but nevertheless can have significant impact through associated traits such as sex ratio distortion. The majority of microsporidia have mixed transmission cycles and it is not clear whether they are able to modify their phenotype according to environmental circumstances. There is a great need to understand the mechanisms controlling transmission and one of the first challenges for the genomics era is to find genes associated with life cycle stages. Similarly we cannot currently predict the ease with which these parasites might switch between host groups. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that there are strong relationships between Microsporidia and their hosts. However closer typing of parasite isolates, in relation to host range and disease phenotype, is required to assess future environmental risk from these pathogens.
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