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Inferring infection processes of a parasitic nematode using population genetics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2000

S. PATERSON ,
M. C. FISHER  and
M. E. VINEY
S. PATERSON
Affiliation:
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
M. C. FISHER
Affiliation:
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK Present address: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720–3102, USA
M. E. VINEY
Affiliation:
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
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Abstract

The distribution of genetic differentiation in a population of the parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti divided between rat hosts was determined. We applied population genetic theory to these data to determine the source of new infections. We estimate the rate at which a rat acquires a new infection from (a) the existing subpopulation of parasites within that rat (‘self-reinfection’) versus (b) the wider environment (‘immigration’). We find that the observed levels of genetic diversity and differentiation in the study population are consistent with low to moderate rates of self-reinfection and inconsistent with high rates of self-reinfection.

Keywords

host–parasite interactionshelminthsepidemiology
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 120 , Issue 2 , February 2000 , pp. 185 - 194
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press

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