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Intensity of infection with intracellular Eimeria spp. and pinworms is reduced in hybrid mice compared to parental subspecies
Author(s) -
Balard Alice,
JarquínDíaz Víctor Hugo,
Jost Jenny,
Martincová Iva,
Ďureje Ľudovít,
Piálek Jaroslav,
Macholán Miloš,
Goüy de Bellocq Joëlle,
Baird Stuart J. E.,
Heitlinger Emanuel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.13578
Subject(s) - biology , eimeria , hybrid zone , hybrid , subspecies , immune system , zoology , host (biology) , coccidiosis , parasitemia , genetic diversity , ecology , evolutionary biology , immunology , genetics , genetic variation , veterinary medicine , gene , malaria , demography , botany , gene flow , medicine , plasmodium falciparum , population , sociology
Genetic diversity in animal immune systems is usually beneficial. In hybrid recombinants, this is less clear, as the immune system could also be impacted by genetic conflicts. In the European house mouse hybrid zone, the long‐standing impression that hybrid mice are more highly parasitized and less fit than parentals persists despite the findings of recent studies. Working across a novel transect, we assessed infections by intracellular protozoans, Eimeria spp., and infections by extracellular macroparasites, pinworms. For Eimeria , we found lower intensities in hybrid hosts than in parental mice but no evidence of lowered probability of infection or increased mortality in the centre of the hybrid zone. This means ecological factors are very unlikely to be responsible for the reduced load of infected hybrids. Focusing on parasite intensity (load in infected hosts), we also corroborated reduced pinworm loads reported for hybrid mice in previous studies. We conclude that intensity of diverse parasites, including the previously unstudied Eimeria , is reduced in hybrid mice compared to parental subspecies. We suggest caution in extrapolating this to differences in hybrid host fitness in the absence of, for example, evidence for a link between parasitemia and health.