the effect and relative importance of neutral genetic diversity for predicting parasitism varies across parasite taxa中性的遗传多样性和相对重要性的影响预测在寄生虫寄生不同类群.pdfVIP

The Effect and Relative Importance of Neutral Genetic Diversity for Predicting Parasitism Varies across Parasite Taxa ´ ´ ´ 1,2 1¤ 1 2 Marıa Jose Ruiz-Lopez *, Ryan J. Monello , Matthew E. Gompper , Lori S. Eggert 1 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America, 2 Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America Abstract Understanding factors that determine heterogeneity in levels of parasitism across individuals is a major challenge in disease ecology. It is known that genetic makeup plays an important role in infection likelihood, but the mechanism remains unclear as does its relative importance when compared to other factors. We analyzed relationships between genetic diversity and macroparasites in outbred, free-ranging populations of raccoons (Procyon lotor). We measured heterozygosity at 14 microsatellite loci and modeled the effects of both multi-locus and single-locus heterozygosity on parasitism using an information theoretic approach and including non-genetic factors that are known to influence the likelihood of parasitism. The association of genetic diversity and parasitism, as well as the relative importance of genetic diversity, differed by parasitic group. Endoparasite species richness was better predicted by a model that included genetic diversity, with the more heterozygous hosts harboring fewer endoparasite species. Genetic diversity was also important in predicting abundance of replete ticks (Dermacentor variabilis). This association fit a curvilinear trend, with hosts that had either high or lo