Published January 13, 2015 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Data from: How a haemosporidian parasite of bats gets around: the genetic structure of a parasite, vector and host compared

  • 1. University of Lausanne
  • 2. Uppsala University
  • 3. University of Lisbon
  • 4. University of Bologna
  • 5. Charles University

Description

Parasite population structure is often thought to be largely shaped by that of its host. In the case of a parasite with a complex life cycle, two host species, each with their own patterns of demography and migration, spread the parasite. However, the population structure of the parasite is predicted to resemble only that of the most vagile host species. In this study we tested this prediction in the context of a vector-transmitted parasite. We sampled the haemosporidian parasite Polychromophilus melanipherus across its European range, together with its bat fly vector Nycteribia schmidlii and its host, the bent-winged bat Miniopterus schreibersii. Based on microsatellite analyses, the wingless vector, and not the bat host, was identified as the least structured population and should therefore be considered the most vagile host. Genetic distance matrices were compared for all three species based on a mitochondrial DNA fragment. Both host and vector populations followed an isolation-by-distance pattern across the Mediterranean, but not the parasite. Mantel tests found no correlation between the parasite and either the host or vector populations. We therefore found no support for our hypothesis; the parasite population structure matched neither vector nor host. Instead, we propose a model where the parasite's gene flow is represented by the added effects of host and vector dispersal patterns.

Notes

Files

microsats_Mschreibersii.csv

Files (418.6 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:6edeaa4729a45fee8c41c135e06ca001
106.5 kB Download
md5:9870e78d93f6e49ddc5a259bda3c8053
100.9 kB Download
md5:002c564307f15e4e0193b2f0b29d5b57
142.0 kB Download
md5:cb7d01653caddeb930e1f0f458eaf0d2
39.3 kB Preview Download
md5:a282165791a9866f2dc804246253b208
25.4 kB Preview Download
md5:31d299ff6f6656c712b30d98c1f60556
649 Bytes Preview Download
md5:c3303b0ebbf727dc6563a8409232d634
596 Bytes Preview Download
md5:6847c38eaa560cf5b7abb5aa6e10feab
794 Bytes Preview Download
md5:01619b77e9dfdab49ca0b2f3f8acc024
1.1 kB Preview Download
md5:63a223639060677227a345f2286588be
1.5 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1111/mec.13071 (DOI)