Search results for "MESH: Acanthocephala"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
Differential influence of Pomphorhynchus laevis (Acanthocephala) on brain serotonergic activity in two congeneric host species.
2007
The physiological mechanisms by which parasites with complex life cycles manipulate the behaviour of their intermediate hosts are still poorly understood. In Burgundy, eastern France, the acanthocephalan parasitePomphorhynchus laevisinverses reaction to light in its amphipod hostGammarus pulex, but not inGammarus roeseli, a recent invasive species. Here, we show that this difference in manipulation actually reflects a difference in the ability of the parasite to alter brain serotonergic (5-HT) activity of the two host species. Injection of 5-HT in uninfected individuals of both host species was sufficient to inverse reaction to light. However, a difference in brain 5-HT immunocytochemical s…
Do distantly related parasites rely on the same proximate factors to alter the behaviour of their hosts?
2006
Phylogenetically unrelated parasites often increase the chances of their transmission by inducing similar phenotypic changes in their hosts. However, it is not known whether these convergent strategies rely on the same biochemical precursors. In this paper, we explored such aspects by studying two gammarid species ( Gammarus insensibilis and Gammarus pulex ; Crustacea: Amphipoda: Gammaridae) serving as intermediate hosts in the life cycle of two distantly related parasites: the trematode, Microphallus papillorobustus and the acanthocephalan, Polymorphus minutus . Both these parasite species are known to manipulate the behaviour of their amphipod hosts, bringing them towards the water surfa…