Abstract
Sequences of the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of nuclear ribosomal (r) DNA were characterised for Labiosimplex australis, a parasitic nematode of macropodid marsupials from continental Australia and from island populations which have been isolated from mainland Australia for relatively short periods of time (<40,000 years). The results showed that the geographically isolated populations of L. australis on Kangaroo Island and Tasmania were genetically different from each other and from populations on the mainland. There were two unequivocal nucleotide differences sites within the ITS-1 rDNA sequence between the two island populations; however, the ITS-1 sequences of individuals from mainland populations contained one or both of these nucleotides. In contrast, L. australis from each island population had unique nucleotides in ITS-2 sequence that were not detected in any individual from the mainland. Although these results are consistent with the hypothesis that L. australis represents a single species, the genetic divergence in the ITS-2 sequences amongst individuals from different isolated populations suggests that the island populations of L. australis may be in the initial stages of allopatric speciation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams BJ (1998) Species concepts and the evolutionary paradigm in modern nematology. J Helminthol 30:1–21
Blouin MS, Yowell CA, Courtney CH, Dame JB (1995) Host movement and the genetic structure of populations of parasitic nematodes. Genetics 141:1007–1014
Brooks DR, McLennan DA (1993) Parascript: parasites and the language of evolution. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Calaby JH (1983) Red-necked wallaby—Macropus rufogriseus. In: Strahan R (ed) The Australian Museum complete book of Australian mammals. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, pp 239–241
Chilton NB (2004) The use of nuclear ribosomal DNA markers for the identification of bursate nematodes (order Strongylida) and for the diagnosis of infections. Anim Health Res Rev 5:171–187
Chilton NB, Beveridge I, Andrews RH (1992) Detection by allozyme electrophoresis of cryptic species of Hypodontus macropi (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) from macropodid marsupials. Int J Parasitol 22:271–279
Chilton NB, Beveridge I, Andrews RH (1993) Electrophoretic comparison of Rugopharynx longibursaris Kung and R. omega Beveridge (Nematoda: Strongyloidea), with the description of R. sigma n. sp. from pademelons, Thylogale spp. (Marsupialia: Macropodidae). Syst Parasitol 26:159–169
Chilton NB, Beveridge I, Gasser RB (1997) Phylogenetic relationships of Australian strongyloid nematodes inferred from ribosomal DNA sequence data. Int J Parasitol 27:1481–1494
Chilton NB, Huby-Chilton F, Gasser RB, Beveridge I (2002) Review of Papillostrongylus Johnson & Mawson, 1939 (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) from wallabies and kangaroos (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) using morphological and molecular techniques, with the description of P. barbatus n. sp. Syst Parasitol 51:81–93
Elder JJ, Turner BJ (1995) Concerted evolution of repetitive DNA sequences in eukaryotes. Q Rev Biol 70:297–320
Flannery T, White JP (1991) Animal translocations. Nat Geog Res Explor 7:96–113
Futuyma DJ (2005) Chapter 16 Speciation. In: Evolution. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, USA, pp 379–404
Gasser RB, Zhu X, Beveridge I, Chilton NB (2001) Mutation scanning analysis of sequence heterogeneity in the second internal transcribed spacer (rDNA) within some members of the Hypodontus macropi (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) complex. Electrophoresis 22:1076–1085
Gasser RB, Hu M, Chilton NB, Campbell BE, Jex AJ, Otranto D, Cafarchia C, Beveridge I, Zhu X (2006) Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) for the analysis of genetic variation. Nat Protoc 1:3121–3128
Hope JH, Lampert RJ, Edmondson E, Smith MJ, van Tets GF (1977) Late Pleistocene faunal remains from Seton rock shelter, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. J Biogeog 4:363–385
Huby-Chilton F, Beveridge I, Gasser RB, Chilton NB (2001) Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of genetic variation in Labiostrongylus longispicularis from kangaroos. Electrophoresis 22:1925–1929
Huby-Chilton F, Beveridge I, Chilton NB (2002) Redescription of Zoniolaimus mawsonae Beveridge, 1983 (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) and the description of Z. latebrosus n. sp. from the red kangaroo, Macropus rufus (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) based on morphological and molecular data. Syst Parasitol 51:135–147
Jennings JN (1971) Sea level changes and land links. In: Mulvaney DJ, Golson J (eds) Aboriginal man and environment in Australia. Australian National University Press, Canberra, pp 1–13
Johnston PG, Sharman GB (1979) Electrophoretic, chromosomal and morphometric studies on the red-necked wallaby, Macropus rufogriseus (Desmarest). Aust J Zool 27:433–441
Lampert RJ (1979) Aborigines. In: Tyler MJ, Twidale CR, Ling JK (eds) Natural history of Kangaroo Island. Royal Society of South Australia, Adelaide, pp 81–89
Le Page SL, Livermore RA, Cooper DW, Taylor AC (2000) Genetic analysis of a documented population bottleneck: introduced Bennett’s wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in New Zealand. Mol Ecol 9:753–763
McKenzie LM, Cooper DW (1997) Hybridization between tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) populations from Western and South Australia. J Heredity 88:398–400
Nadler SA, Adams BJ, Lyons ET, DeLong RL, Melin SR (2000) Molecular and morphometric evidence for separate species of Uncinaria (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae) in California sea lions and northern fur seals: hypothesis testing supplants verification. J Parasitol 86:1099–1106
Schlötterer C, Tautz D (1994) Chromosomal homogeneity of Drosophila ribosomal DNA arrays suggests intrachromosomal exchanges drive concerted evolution. Current Biol 4:777–783
Smales LR (1994) A taxonomic revision of Labiostrongylus (Labiostrongylus) (Yorke & Maplestone, 1926) and Labiostrongylus (Labiomultiplex) n. subg. (Nematoda: Cloacinidae) from macropodid and potoroid marsupials. Syst Parasitol 29:181–216
Smales LR (1995) A revision of the subgenus Labiostrongylus (Labiosimplex) (Nematoda: Cloacinidae) from macropodid marsupials, with description of twelve new species and a key to the species of the subgenus. Invert Taxon 9:181–242
Smales LR (2006) New host records, redescriptions and new species of Labiostrongylinea (Nematoda: Chabertiidae) from macropodid marsupials, with a revised host-parasite checklist. Trans R Soc S Aust 130:85–100
Smales LR, Chilton NB (1997) An electrophoretic and morphological analysis of Labiostrongylus (Labiosimplex) bancrofti (Johnson & Mawson, 1939) (Nematoda: Cloacinidae) from macropodid marsupials, with the description of two new species. Syst Parasitol 36:193–201
Spratt DM, Beveridge I, Walter E (1991) A catalogue of Australasian marsupials and monotremes and their recorded helminth parasites. Rec S Aust Mus Mong Ser 1:1–105
Strahan R (1995) The mammals of Australia. Reed Books, Chatswood
Webley LS, Beveridge I, Coulson G (2004) Endoparasites of an insular subspecies of the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus. Aust J Zool 52:623–633
Acknowledgments
Collecting was funded partly by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chilton, N.B., Huby-Chilton, F., Smales, L.R. et al. Genetic divergence between island and continental populations of the parasitic nematode Labiosimplex australis in Australia. Parasitol Res 104, 229–236 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1178-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1178-y