Borrelia afzeliialters reproductive success in a rodent host

The impact of a pathogen on the fitness and behaviour of its natural host depends upon the host–parasite relationship in a given set of environmental conditions. Here, we experimentally investigated the effects ofBorrelia afzelii,one of the aetiological agents of Lyme disease in humans, on the fitness of its natural rodent host, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), in semi-natural conditions with two contrasting host population densities. Our results show thatB. afzeliican modify the reproductive success and spacing behaviour of its rodent host, whereas host survival was not affected. Infection impaired the breeding probability of large bank voles. Reproduction was hastened in infected females…

Code from Competition between strains of Borrelia afzelii inside the rodent host and the tick vector

R code used to analyze the data

Susceptibility to infection with Borrelia afzelii and TLR2 polymorphism in a wild reservoir host

AbstractThe study of polymorphic immune genes in host populations is critical for understanding genetic variation in susceptibility to pathogens. Controlled infection experiments are necessary to separate variation in the probability of exposure from genetic variation in susceptibility to infection, but such experiments are rare for wild vertebrate reservoir hosts and their zoonotic pathogens. The bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is an important reservoir host of Borrelia afzelii, a tick-borne spirochete that causes Lyme disease. Bank vole populations are polymorphic for Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), an innate immune receptor that recognizes bacterial lipoproteins. To test whether the TLR2 polym…

Supplementary material from Competition between strains of Borrelia afzelii inside the rodent host and the tick vector

Supplementary material supporting the paper

cayol_texte_tables_figures_ESM from Borrelia afzelii alters reproductive success in a rodent host

Supplementary material from "Borrelia afzelii alters reproductive success in a rodent host". Detailed material and methods, supplementary tables, figures and results.

Competition between strains of Borrelia afzelii inside the rodent host and the tick vector

Multiple-strain pathogens often establish mixed infections inside the host that result in competition between strains. In vector-borne pathogens, the competitive ability of strains must be measured in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector to understand the outcome of competition. Such studies could reveal the existence of trade-offs in competitive ability between different host types. We used the tick-borne bacteriumBorrelia afzeliito test for competition between strains in the rodent host and the tick vector, and to test for a trade-off in competitive ability between these two host types. Mice were infected via tick bite with either one or two strains, and these mice were subse…

Data from Competition between strains of Borrelia afzelii inside the rodent host and the tick vector

Data used for the analyses

Research data of article: "Borrelia afzelii alters reproductive success in a rodent host"