@article{ced54871c1ef4540adc0d220f44bf2ec,
title = "The gastrointestinal nematodes of plains and Grevy's zebras: Phylogenetic relationships and host specificity",
abstract = "Equids are chronically infected with parasitic strongyle nematodes. There is a rich literature on horse strongyles, but they are difficult to identify morphologically and genetic studies on strongyles infecting other equid species are few, hampering studies of host specificity. We sequenced expelled worms from two sympatric zebra species in central Kenya to expand the strongyle phylogeny and used DNA metabarcoding on faecal samples to genetically characterize zebra nemabiomes for the first time. We generated sequences for several species new to public genetic reference databases, all of which are typical strongyles in wild zebras (i.e., the three species of Cylindropharynx and Cyathostomum montgomeryi), and identified their closest relatives. We also discovered an apparent fungus infecting a quarter of the expelled Crossocephalus viviparus worms, a hyperabundant nematode species in the family Atractidae, hinting at the possibility that zebra host-parasite dynamics may involve a zebra-fungus mutualism. The two zebra species had similar nemabiomes; we found a complete overlap in the list of nematode species they carry and very similar prevalence (i.e., proportion of hosts infected) for the different nematode species. Our study suggests limited host-specificity in zebra strongyles and high potential for transmission between the plains zebra and the endangered Grevy's zebra.",
keywords = "DNA metabarcoding, Equid nemabiome, Equid parasitology, Strongyle phylogeny, Zebra nematodes",
author = "Tombak, {Kaia J.} and Hansen, {Christina B.} and Kinsella, {John M.} and Johan Pansu and Pringle, {Robert M.} and Rubenstein, {Daniel I.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (IBN-0309233, CNS-025214, IOB-9874523, IIS-0705822, IIS-0747369, IOS-1656527) and the High Meadows Environmental Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. Sequence alignment, filtering, and taxonomic assignment were performed on computational resources managed and supported by Princeton Research Computing, a consortium of groups including the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (PICSciE) and the Office of Information Technology's High Performance Computing Centre and Visualization Laboratory at Princeton University. We thank Mpala Research Centre, Kenya Wildlife Services (permit number KWS/BRM/5001), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA/AGR/107/2018), and the National Commission for Science and Technology (A10450) for permission to conduct our research and for logistical support, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture for permission to transport the samples into and within the United States (USDA APHIS permits 130123, 137202, and 137555). We thank the wonderful team of research staff at Mpala Research Centre, including Rosemary Warungu, Margaret Mwangi, Anthony Mwangi, Timothy Sisanya, and Josphat Mwangi. We thank Emily Nonnamaker, Lily Reisinger, Laurel Easterling, Monica Seng, Madison Spinelli, and Lindsay Martinez for their generous assistance in the field. We thank Sarah Budischak, Jasmin Ashraf, and Andrea Graham for valuable advice on the sequencing techniques, protocols, and analyses. We are also grateful to Sara Weinstein, Danny Haelewaters, Anne Pringle, Marie Trest, Rosina Krecek, Vitaliy Kharchenko, and Sonja Matthee for guidance and assistance on the microscopic identification of nematodes and/or the suspected nematophagous fungus. Funding Information: This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (IBN-0309233, CNS-025214, IOB-9874523, IIS-0705822, IIS-0747369, IOS-1656527) and the High Meadows Environmental Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. Sequence alignment, filtering, and taxonomic assignment were performed on computational resources managed and supported by Princeton Research Computing, a consortium of groups including the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (PICSciE) and the Office of Information Technology's High Performance Computing Centre and Visualization Laboratory at Princeton University. We thank Mpala Research Centre, Kenya Wildlife Services (permit number KWS/BRM/5001), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA/AGR/107/2018), and the National Commission for Science and Technology (A10450) for permission to conduct our research and for logistical support, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture for permission to transport the samples into and within the United States (USDA APHIS permits 130123, 137202, and 137555). We thank the wonderful team of research staff at Mpala Research Centre, including Rosemary Warungu, Margaret Mwangi, Anthony Mwangi, Timothy Sisanya, and Josphat Mwangi. We thank Emily Nonnamaker, Lily Reisinger, Laurel Easterling, Monica Seng, Madison Spinelli, and Lindsay Martinez for their generous assistance in the field. We thank Sarah Budischak, Jasmin Ashraf, and Andrea Graham for valuable advice on the sequencing techniques, protocols, and analyses. We are also grateful to Sara Weinstein, Danny Haelewaters, Anne Pringle, Marie Trest, Rosina Krecek, Vitaliy Kharchenko, and Sonja Matthee for guidance and assistance on the microscopic identification of nematodes and/or the suspected nematophagous fungus. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",
year = "2021",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.10.007",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "16",
pages = "228--235",
journal = "International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife",
issn = "2213-2244",
publisher = "Elsevier BV",
}