title: Molecular analyses on host-seeking black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) reveal a diverse assemblage of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) parasites in an alpine ecosystem.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) species well exceeds the approximately 35 currently described taxa. Further, the degree of host-specificity may vary substantially among lineages. Parasite distribution can be influenced by the ability of the parasite to infect a host, vector preferences for certain avian hosts, or other factors such as microhabitat requirements that increase the probability that vertebrate hosts and vectors are in frequent contact with each other. Whereas most studies of haemosporidians have focused on passerine hosts, sampling vectors in the same habitats may allow the detection of other lineages affecting other hosts.
  
  
  METHODS
  We sampled abundant, ornithophilic black flies (Simuliidae) across a variety of sites and habitats in the Colorado Rocky Mountains throughout the summer of 2007. Black flies were screened with PCR using Leucocytozoon-specific primers that amplify a portion of the cytochrome b gene, and the sequences were compared to the haplotypes in the MalAvi database. Infections of Leucocytozoon from birds sampled in the same area were also included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recovered 33 unique haplotypes from the black flies in this study area, which represented a large phylogenetic diversity of Leucocytozoon parasites. However, there were no clear patterns of avian host species or geography for the distribution of Leucocytozoon haplotypes in the phylogeny.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sampling host-seeking vectors is a useful way to obtain a wide variety of avian haemosporidian haplotypes from a given area and may prove useful for understanding the global patterns of host, parasite, and vector associations of these ubiquitous and diverse parasites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA. cmurdock@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Courtney C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Murdock
authors.affiliation: Entomology Program, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634-0310, USA. padler@clemson.edu.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.affiliation: Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024, USA. jaredrf@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024, USA. perkins@amnh.org.
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Perkins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D003120:Colorado; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D006239:Haplotypes; D058507:Host Specificity; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D045303:Cytochromes b