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"Parasite"
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People, parasites, and plowshares
Dickson D. Despommier's vivid, visceral account of the biology, behavior, and history of parasites follows the interplay between these fascinating life forms and human society over thousands of years. Despommier focuses on long-term host-parasite associations, which have evolved to avoid or even subvert the human immune system. Some parasites do great damage to their hosts, while others have signed a kind of \"peace treaty\" in exchange for their long lives within them. Many parasites also practice clever survival strategies that medical scientists hope to mimic as they search for treatments for Crohn's disease, food allergies, type 1 diabetes, organ transplantation, and other medical challenges.
Despommier concentrates on particularly remarkable and often highly pathogenic organisms, describing their lifecycles and the mechanisms they use to avoid elimination. He details their attack and survival plans and the nature of the illnesses they cause in general terms, enabling readers of all backgrounds to steal a glimpse into the secret work of such effective invaders. He also points to the cultural contexts in which these parasites thrive and reviews the current treatments available to defeat them. Encouraging scientists to continue to study these organisms even if their threat is largely contained, Despommier shows how closer dissection of the substances parasites produce to alter our response to them could help unravel some of our most complex medical conundrums.
eBook
Helmintological Examination of Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) (Passeriformes: Corvidae) Specimens Collected from Bursa and Its Surroundings in Türkiye
Background: The Eurasian magpie, Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758), is a widely distributed bird species inhabiting both rural and urban environments in Türkiye. Despite its ecological importance, information on its helminth fauna remains limited. We aimed to investigate the helminth fauna of P. pica specimens collected in Bursa Province and to contribute to the knowledge of parasite biodiversity in Türkiye. Methods: A total of 53 P. pica specimens, brought dead between June 2015 and August 2025 from Bursa Zoo and the Celal Acar Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (Karacabey Ova Korusu, Bursa, Türkiye), were examined for helminths using standard parasitological techniques. Recovered helminths were identified morphologically. Results: Ten helminth species were identified: Brachylaima fuscata (Rudolphi, 1819) Joyeux, Baer & Timon-David, 1932, B. lobatum (Railliet, 1900), Lyperosomum longicauda (Rudolphi, 1809) (Digenea); Raillietina echinobothrida (Megnin, 1881), Passerilepis stylosa (Rudolphi, 1809), Choanotaenia macracantha (Krabbe, 1869) (Cestoda); Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819), Baruscapillaria obsignata (Madsen, 1945) Moravec, 1982, B. resecta (Dujardin, 1845) (Nematoda); and Sphaerirostris picae (Rudolphi, 1819) (Acanthocephala). R. echinobothrida, C. macracantha, B. obsignata, and B. resecta were recorded from P. pica for the first time worldwide. In addition, B. fuscata, B. lobatum, L. longicauda, C. macracantha, P. stylosa, and B. resecta represent new records for the helminth fauna of Türkiye. Conclusion: This study expands current knowledge of the helminth fauna of P. pica and provides several novel host and geographical records. The findings highlight the importance of continued parasitological investigations of wild birds in Türkiye to improve our understanding of parasite diversity and host–parasite associations.
Journal Article
Life lessons from a parasite : what tapeworms, flukes, lice, and roundworms can teach us about humanity's most difficult problems
\"In this unique piece of pop-science, one of the world's preeminent experts on parasites reveals their astonishing, disgusting, weird, and fascinating behaviors and how they provide insight into humanity's most difficult problems. Squeamishness aside, what can humans learn from the most reviled yet misunderstood animals on Earth: lice, tapeworms, and maggots that can eat a lizard from the inside? And how can these lessons help us negotiate a world characterized by pandemic disease, ethnic hatred, climate change, war, and internet-driven political chaos? Whether we're learning to adapt to adverse conditions, accept our own limitations, or process new information in a frightening landscape-we can be sure a parasite did it first. Because sometimes, the answers to life's biggest questions can be found by looking at the little things\"-- Provided by publisher.
BOOK
Microbial evolution and transitions along the parasite–mutualist continuum
Virtually all plants and animals, including humans, are home to symbiotic microorganisms. Symbiotic interactions can be neutral, harmful or have beneficial effects on the host organism. However, growing evidence suggests that microbial symbionts can evolve rapidly, resulting in drastic transitions along the parasite–mutualist continuum. In this Review, we integrate theoretical and empirical findings to discuss the mechanisms underpinning these evolutionary shifts, as well as the ecological drivers and why some host–microorganism interactions may be stuck at the end of the continuum. In addition to having biomedical consequences, understanding the dynamic life of microorganisms reveals how symbioses can shape an organism’s biology and the entire community, particularly in a changing world.Symbiotic interactions can be neutral, harmful or have beneficial effects for host organisms. In this Review, Drew, Stevens and King discuss the evolutionary transitions of host–microorganism symbioses along the parasite–mutualist continuum, the mechanisms underlying evolutionary changes, the selective pressures involved and common empirical approaches for studying them.
Journal Article
Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Communication Within Host-Parasite Interactions
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membrane-surrounded structures released by different kinds of cells (normal, diseased, and transformed cells)
and
that contain large amounts of important substances (such as lipids, proteins, metabolites, DNA, RNA, and non-coding RNA (ncRNA), including miRNA, lncRNA, tRNA, rRNA, snoRNA, and scaRNA) in an evolutionarily conserved manner. EVs, including exosomes, play a role in the transmission of information, and substances between cells that is increasingly being recognized as important. In some infectious diseases such as parasitic diseases, EVs have emerged as a ubiquitous mechanism for mediating communication during host-parasite interactions. EVs can enable multiple modes to transfer virulence factors and effector molecules from parasites to hosts, thereby regulating host gene expression, and immune responses and, consequently, mediating the pathogenic process, which has made us rethink our understanding of the host-parasite interface. Thus, here, we review the present findings regarding EVs (especially exosomes) and recognize the role of EVs in host-parasite interactions. We hope that a better understanding of the mechanisms of parasite-derived EVs may provide new insights for further diagnostic biomarker, vaccine, and therapeutic development.
Journal Article
Monarch butterfly migration and parasite transmission in eastern North America
Seasonal migration occurs in many animal systems and is likely to influence interactions between animals and their parasites. Here, we focus on monarch butterflies (
Danaus plexippus
) and a protozoan parasite (
Ophryocystis elektroscirrha
) to investigate how host migration affects infectious disease processes. Previous work showed that parasite prevalence was lower among migratory than nonmigratory monarch populations; two explanations for this pattern are that (1) migration allows animals to periodically escape contaminated habitats (i.e., migratory escape), and (2) long-distance migration weeds out infected animals (i.e., migratory culling). We combined field-sampling and analysis of citizen science data to examine spatiotemporal trends of parasite prevalence and evaluate evidence for these two mechanisms. Analysis of within-breeding-season variation in eastern North America showed that parasite prevalence increased from early to late in the breeding season, consistent with the hypothesis of migratory escape. Prevalence was also positively related to monarch breeding activity, as indexed by larval density. Among adult monarchs captured at different points along the east coast fall migratory flyway, parasite prevalence declined as monarchs progressed southward, consistent with the hypothesis of migratory culling. Parasite prevalence was also lower among monarchs sampled at two overwintering sites in Mexico than among monarchs sampled during the summer breeding period. Collectively, these results indicate that seasonal migration can affect parasite transmission in wild animal populations, with implications for predicting disease risks for species with threatened migrations.
Journal Article
