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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Diversification of an emerging pathogen in a biodiversity hotspot: Leptospira in endemic small mammals of Madagascar
Molecular Ecology, Volume 23, No. 11, Year 2014
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Description
Biodiversity hotspots and associated endemism are ideal systems for the study of parasite diversity within host communities. Here, we investigated the ecological and evolutionary forces acting on the diversification of an emerging bacterial pathogen, Leptospira spp., in communities of endemic Malagasy small mammals. We determined the infection rate with pathogenic Leptospira in 20 species of sympatric rodents (subfamily Nesomyinae) and tenrecids (family Tenrecidae) at two eastern humid forest localities. A multilocus genotyping analysis allowed the characterization of bacterial diversity within small mammals and gave insights into their genetic relationships with Leptospira infecting endemic Malagasy bats (family Miniopteridae and Vespertilionidae). We report for the first time the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in Malagasy endemic small mammals, with an overall prevalence of 13%. In addition, these hosts harbour species of Leptospira (L. kirschneri, L. borgpetersenii and L. borgpetersenii group B) which are different from those reported in introduced rats (L. interrogans) on Madagascar. The diversification of Leptospira on Madagascar can be traced millions of years into evolutionary history, resulting in the divergence of endemic lineages and strong host specificity. These observations are discussed in relation to the relative roles of endemic vs. introduced mammal species in the evolution and epidemiology of Leptospira on Madagascar, specifically how biodiversity and biogeographical processes can shape community ecology of an emerging pathogen and lead to its diversification within native animal communities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Dietrich, Muriel
France
Centre de Recherche et de Veille Sur Les Maladies Emergentes Dans L'ocean Indien Reunion
France, Saint-denis
Université de la Réunion
Wilkinson, David A.
France
Centre de Recherche et de Veille Sur Les Maladies Emergentes Dans L'ocean Indien Reunion
France, Saint-denis
Université de la Réunion
Soarimalala, Voahangy
Madagascar, Antananarivo
Association Vahatra
Goodman, Steven Michael
Madagascar, Antananarivo
Association Vahatra
United States, Chicago
Field Museum of Natural History
Dellagi, Koussey
France
Centre de Recherche et de Veille Sur Les Maladies Emergentes Dans L'ocean Indien Reunion
France
Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement Ird Réunion
Tortosa, Pablo
France
Centre de Recherche et de Veille Sur Les Maladies Emergentes Dans L'ocean Indien Reunion
France, Saint-denis
Université de la Réunion
Statistics
Citations: 67
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/mec.12777
ISSN:
09621083
e-ISSN:
1365294X
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Madagascar