Molecular analyses reveal high species diversity of trematodes in a sub-Arctic lake.
To identify trematode diversity and life-cycles in the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, Norway, we characterised 120 trematode isolates from mollusc first intermediate hosts, metacercariae from second intermediate host fishes and invertebrates, and adults from fish and invertebrate definitive hosts, using molecular techniques. Phylogenies based on nuclear and/or mtDNA revealed high species richness (24 species or species-level genetic lineages) and uncovered trematode diversity (16 putative new species) from five families typical in lake ecosystems (Allocreadiidae, Diplostomidae, Plagiorchiidae, Schistosomatidae and Strigeidae). Sampling potential invertebrate hosts allowed matching of sequence data for different stages, thus achieving molecular elucidation of trematode life-cycles and exploration of host-parasite interactions. Phylogenetic analyses also helped identify three major mollusc intermediate hosts (Radix balthica, Pisidium casertanum and Sphaerium sp.) in the lake. Our findings increase the known trematode diversity at the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, showing that digenean diversity is high in this otherwise depauperate sub-Arctic freshwater ecosystem and indicating that sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems may be characterised by unique trematode assemblages.
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Miroslava
M
Soldánová
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Simona
S
Georgieva
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Jana
J
Roháčová
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Rune
R
Knudsen
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Jesper A
JA
Kuhn
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Eirik H
EH
Henriksen
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Anna
A
Siwertsson
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Jenny C
JC
Shaw
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Armand M
AM
Kuris
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Per-Arne
PA
Amundsen
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Tomáš
T
Scholz
United States Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, c/o Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Kevin D
KD
Lafferty
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Electronic address: aneta.kostadinova@uv.es.
Aneta
A
Kostadinova
D033304:Amphipoda / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000469:parasitology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005399:Fishes; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D007313:Insecta / Q000469:parasitology; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000469:parasitology*; D060106:Lakes / Q000469:parasitology*; D008974:Mollusca / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology; D009664:Norway; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology; D014200:Trematoda / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*
Intermediate hosts; Lake Takvatn; Mitochondrial DNA; Norway; Nuclear DNA; Phylogeny; Sub-Arctic; Trematode diversity