Module 12

13 (Ch 13)
Parasitism

Parasites
• Consume parts (tissues/fluids) of a living prey organism (host)
• May be external (ectoparasite) or internal (endoparasite)
• May be large (macroparasite) or small (microparasite)
• Pathogens are parasites that cause diseases

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Helicobacter pylori

Sea lamprey

Parasites represent ~50% of the species on earth

because:
A. Most parasites are specialized for one or a few host spp

Human bot fly

Dermatobia hominis

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 Parasites represent ~50% of the species on earth
because:

B. Most host spp attacked by >1 parasite spp

Average number of helminth species per host

P1 P2
P5
Host
P4
1 Host
2
P3

P7 P6

Host
3
P9
P8

Even parasites have parasites

Example:
• French woman w/ amoeba in eye.
 Amoeba with giant virus, called Lentille virus
 Lentile virus with a virus, called Sputnik 2.
 Sputnik 2 with chunks of parasitic DNA, called transpovirons,

Desnues, C. et al. 2012. Provirophages and transpovirons as the diverse mobilome of giant viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(44): 18078–18083.

Many parasites are ectoparasites

Tongue parasitizing isopod
on greater weaver fish

Eyelash mites Dust mite eating a hair

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 Many fungi are ectoparasites

Trichophyton rubrum

Rust
(order Pucciniales)

Parasitic Plants are ectoparasites

2 Classifications:

1. Holoparasites

2. Hemiparasites

Holoparasitic plants cannot photosynthesize

• Extract all H20, minerals, and carbohydrates from host plant xylem and phloem
• Completely dependent on host (obligate)

Haustorium penetrating xylem and phloem

Dodder (Cuscuta spp)

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Holoparasite
Tetrastigma vine

Borneo
Rafflesia arnoldii
Sumatra
"corpse flower".

Hemiparasitic plants CAN photosynthesize

• Extract H20, minerals, and some but not all carbohydrates from host plant
• May be completely dependent (obligate) or not dependent (facultative) on host

e.g. mistletoes

Many epiphytes, such as Spanish moss, are not parasitic

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 Module 12
13 (Ch 13)
Part B

Endoparasites
Class Cestoda (tapeworms)

• Intestinal parasites of most vertebrates

Tapeworms are highly hooks

specialized endoparasites
suckers

• Specialized attachment organs

• no sense organs
• no brain or nerve cords
• no mouth or gut
Absorbs host’s pre-digested nutrients

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 Endoparasites
Phylum Nematoda (roundworms)
~25K spp known
• likely 20x more!
•Highly abundant
– 90% of animals on ocean floor
– 80% of all individual animals on earth
•Ubiquitous:
– in soil (terrestrial & under fresh & salt water)
– pole to pole
– harsh desserts
– deep in the earth
– in plant and animal tissues and fluids
• Predators, scavengers, & parasites
of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria

Some nematodes are parasites of vertebrates

e.g. Trichinella spp (trichinosis)
• Mammalian & reptilian parasites
• Cysts live in muscle tissue:
 hatch when eaten by new host
 young worms burrow thru
intestinal wall & muscles
 cramping, diarrhea, fever
 sometimes enter CNS
• In U.S. ~12 cases/ year
 reduced by not allowing
feeding of raw meat to hogs

Phylum Nematoda - Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm)

1. Human ingests copepods D. Medinencis
w/ larvae in unfiltered H2O larvae
or undercooked fish
2. Larvae burrow into stomach lining
3. ♀ emerges from blister into H2O
4. Copepods eat larvae

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1986: 3.5 M cases May become 1st parasite to be eradicated…
in 20 African countries
2009: 3185 (4 countries, (85% S. Sudan)
2010: 1794 cases (95% in S. Sudan)
2011: 1060 (97% in S Sudan)
2012: 542 cases
2013: 148 cases
2014: 80 cases
2015: 22 cases - 4 countries Previously believed to not have any hosts
• Chad 9, S. Sudan 5, Mali 5, Ethiopia 3
2016: 25 Cases – 3 countries
besides humans and copopods…
• Chad 16, S. Sudan 6, Ethiopia 3
2017: 30 Cases – 2 countries
• Chad 15, Ethiopia 15
2018: 28 Cases - 3 countries
• Chad 17, S. Sudan 10, Angola 1
2019: 53 cases - 4 countries
• Chad 47, S. Sudan 4, Angola 1, Cameroon 1
2020: 27 cases - 6 countries
• Chad 12, Ethiopia 11, Mali 1, S. Sudan 1
Angola 1, Camaroon 1
http://www.nature.com/news/dogs-thwart-effort-to-eradicate-guinea-worm-1.19109

Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm)

Phylum Nematoda - Filaria (lymphatic filariasis) (Elephantiasis)

~120M people infected in 73 countries & ~40M disfigured or incapacitated in 2015
• Spread mainly by biting insects (e.g. mosquitoes & blk flies)
• Infection requires repeated bites over months to years
• Live in human lymph system usually undetected
• Some have swelling due to blocked lymph nodes
• Thought to have affected humans ~ 4000 yrs

Swollen testicles in severe cases

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Phylum Nematoda - Loa loa filariasis (African eye worm)

• ~12-13 million humans are

infected with the Loa loa larvae.
• Human form restricted to the rainforest
and swamp forest areas of West Africa
• Contracted through biting insects
(deer fly, mango fly)

Endoparasites often have complex lifecycles

Complex life cycles =
 1 or more hosts
 Several life stages
 May have free-living stages

e.g. Malaria (Plasmodium spp) e.g. Schistosomiasis (Schistosoma spp)

Plasmodium is the organism that causes malaria

• Is a eukaryote in the group Alveolata

• Parasites of mammals, birds, and reptiles

 5 spp infect humans
 Avian malaria has decimated Hawaiian birds

~250 million people currently infected

~500,000 - 900,000 people die each year

• Hard to make vaccine since hides INSIDE of cells

and constantly changes surface proteins.

• Very complex life cycle:

 Sexual and asexual stages
 Diploid and Haploid stages
 Two or more hosts needed for reproduction

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 Plasmodium Life Cycle
1. Mosquito bites human & injects saliva
with Plasmodium sporozoites
2. Sporozoites go inside liver cells, divide asexually Anopheles mosquito
& transform into merozoites which
are released into the blood stream Sporozoites
Sporozoites
3. Merozoites go inside RBCs, divide asexually,
and are released into the bloodstream
every 48-72 hrs, causing fever
4. Most merozoites reinvade RBCs & fever subsides
Merozoites
and others transform into gametocytes (nonpathogenic)
5. Mosquito bite transfers gametocytes into mosquito
6. Gametocytes transform into ♂ and ♀ Gametes
7. In mosquito stomach, fertilization occurs when ♂ and ♀
gametes combine (i.e. sexual reproduction) and form zygote
8. Zygote protected in hardened capsule (oocyst),
and divides asexually to produce new sporozoites
9. Oocyst bursts & releases sporozoites,
which go to mosquito salivary gland Gametocytes
You should know the developmental process
within both hosts but not the names of life stages

Malaria in the United States

1957-1994: 76 cases

Combated in the US w/ pesticides (DDT)

and wetland drainage
Now primarily just surveillance

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 Module 12
13 (Ch 13)
Part C

Zika virus
• Prior to 2007, primarily occurred in monkeys in Uganda, w/ rare infection in humans
• 2015-16 - Outbreak in Brazil → 50 countries w/ ~1.5 Mil infected & >3,500 microcephaly cases.
• In U.S. 282 cases (228 via mosquitoes, 51 via sex) in Miami, FL and Brownsville, TX
• In 2017, only 665 cases worldwide (7 in U.S.)

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 Zika Symptoms
• Usually goes unnoticed (70-80% of infections)
• Symptoms usually short-lived (<1 week), mild, flu-like
• Can cause microcephaly in fetus

MIAMI — Thousands of bacteria-infected

mosquitoes will be flying near Miami to test a
new way to suppress insect populations that
carry Zika and other viruses.

According to a statement from the Kentucky-

based company MosquitoMate, the first
mosquitoes will be released in the city of South
Miami. The test is in collaboration with the
Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control and
Habitat Management Division.

MosquitoMate infects male Aedes aegypti

mosquitoes with the naturally occurring
Wolbachia bacteria. Male mosquitoes don’t
bite, and Wolbachia isn’t harmful to humans.

The hope is the males mate with female Asian

tiger mosquitoes, which do bite humans, and
are carriers of dangerous viral diseases, such
as yellow fever and Zika.

Eggs fertilized by the dud studs don’t hatch, because the bacteria frazzles the dad’s genetic contribution. And the bacteria-
infected females don’t contract viruses as easily, so their rate of transmission drops.

It’s a non-chemical way of dealing with mosquitoes. The biggest hurdles are breeding the millions of bugs needed to make
a dent in native populations, as well as separating the harmless-to-humans males from the blood-sucking females inside
the lab, which workers currently do mainly by hand.

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12
Johnson & Johnson Pfizer-BioNTech
Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna

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 How Do Vaccines Work?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DuSy6l4zBU

How Do Vaccines Work?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5jfcu8JHmY

Module 12
13 (Ch 13)
Part D

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 Parasitoids
• Gradually consume tissues of hosts,
eventually killing host
 Combine traits of parasites and predators
 Most are wasps or flies

Parasitoids
• Typically highly host-specific
• Adults free living
• only female searches for host
• Only attack a particular life stage of one or several related species
• Eggs laid in, on, or near host
• Immature life stage develops on or within a single insect host
• feeds on body fluids and organs
• ultimately kills host
• leaves host to pupate
or emerges as an adult.

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kObnRVjX0hM (1:05)

Parasitoids
Humpbacked flies
 Family Phoridae, order Diptera
 ~ 4,000 spp
 Most occur in tropical regions worldwide
 Highly varied lifestyles:
• Predators
• Fungus feeders
• Dung-dwellers
• Decomposers of animal flesh
Small worker • Plant parasites – live btwn leaf tissue layers
• Parasitoids

Large worker
Leafcutter ant (Atta spp)

Parasitoids
Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta,
- Arrived in the U.S. from central Brazil between 1933 and 1945
- Controlling using:
- 2 species of decapitating parasitoid phorid flies
- also trying a protozoan and fungus

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFVvOo1Qd_8 (2:21)

Some non-parasitoid phorid spp

aka “coffin” flies
• Blow flies arrive soon after death
• Many phorid flies arrive
10-20 days post mortem
• Can tell time since death
by estimating age of larvae

Phorid

Parasites and parasitoids can alter behavior

Horse hair worms (Paragordius tricuspidatus)
• ~320 spp
• Live in freshwater, leaflitter and algal mats near edges of streams and ponds
• Parasites of terrestrial and aquatic insects and freshwater crayfish
• Adults have no mouth or functional digestive tract
•Causes insect to go crazy and jump in water and drown
• Adult then burrows out and is now in water again so can lay eggs

Thomas, F, P Ulitsky, R Augier, N Dusticier, D Samuel, C Strambi, DG Biron and M Cayre. 2003. Biochemical and histological changes in the brain of the cricket
Nemobius sylvestris infected by the manipulative parasite Paragordius tricuspidatus (Nematomorpha). International Journal for Parasitology 33:435–443.

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 Horse hair Worm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_iGe_JSzI (0:33)

Lancet liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum)

• Infects cattle and occasionally humans
• Alters behavior of intermediate host to facilitate spread

Some complicated lifecycles

include altering behavior of hosts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PB4SjX8QkA (2:42)

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 Ophiocordyceps
• Fungal parasites of ants
and other rainforest insects

• Ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that

includes about 400 described species
of which ~140 grow on insects

Ophiocordyceps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8 (3:03)

Dr. Charissa de Bekker – UCF Dept of Biology

Her interdisciplinary work

combines behavioral ecology
with molecular biology,
genetics and genomics, as
well as local field studies

Her research focuses on

unraveling how parasites can
so precisely manipulate
animal behavior by
discovering which fungal
effectors are being produced
to establish manipulation and
how they reroute the
behavioral output of an ant
brain.

Well worth reading!

http://io9.gizmodo.com/meet-the-scientist-who-is-solving-the-mystery-of-zombie-1493617822

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Zombie ant research at UCF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOMNpw7kOLQ (12:47)

Module 12
13 (Ch 13)
Part E

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 Hosts mount a variety of defenses against parasites
Immune system – phagocytosis, antimicrobial peptides, natural killer cells
lymphocytes (memory cells)

Neutrophil attacks Macrophage

anthrax bacteria attacks bacteria

Lymphocyte attacks
fungal colony

Hosts mount a variety of defenses against parasites

Biochemical defenses
e.g. - Bacterial and fungal endoparasites require iron to grow
- Vertebrates have transferrin (a protein) that moves iron from
plasma into cells making parasite growth in blood very difficult
- Some parasites evolved to steal iron from transferrin

e.g. (a) Caterpillars in which parasitic flies lay their eggs switch food preference
More hemlock (toxic) in diet (b) increases chance of survival
(c) causes development to adult to be faster
(a) Caterpillars food preference (c) Number of days to pupate
(b) Caterpillars surviving to adulthood

Karban, R and G English-Loeb. 1997. Tachinid Parasitoids Affect Host Plant Choice by
Caterpillars to Increase Caterpillar Survival. Ecology 78:603-611.

Parasites have adaptations that circumvent host defenses

• Plasmodium merozoites infect red blood cells (RBCs)
• RBCs do not grow and don’t need nutrients
BUT Plasmodium adds channels to RBC surface to transport nutrients into cell
• RBCs misshapen by Plasmodium can be detected by spleen and removed from body
BUT Plasmodium causes RBCs to stick to other cells
which prevents them from moving to spleen

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 Parasites have adaptations that circumvent host defenses

• Insects use encapsulation to cover parasites or their eggs and kill them

• BUT parasitoid wasps that lay eggs in Drosophila

also inject a virus that kills cells that encapsulate

30 min 2 hrs 12 hrs 20 hrs

Pech, LL and MR Strand. 1996. Granular cells are required for encapsulation of foreign targets by insect haemocytes. Journal of Cell Science 109:2053-2060.

Parasites reduce survival (Sx) and reproduction (Fx),

and thus reduce the population growth rate (λ)
• Research
 Infected beetles with parasitic mite
 Monitored % of beetle eggs that hatched over next 25 days

Females from control populations Females from infected populations

Percentage of eggs hatching successfully

Percentage of eggs hatching successfully

Time (days) Time (days)

Parasites can drive host populations to extinction

American chestnut: Chestnut blight

• ONCE ranged from Maine to Mississippi (Cryphonectria parasitica)
• FORMER total abundance ~3 million
• WAS ~25-30% of all hardwoods in PA
• It’s nuts WERE very important for wildlife
• Fungus (chestnut blight) killed nearly all in <30 yrs (~1904-30)
• ~100 trees remain in original distribution

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 Parasites may cause population fluctuations
• Are 4 yr red grouse populations fluctuations due to parasitic nematode?
• Studied 6 pops: 2 controls, 2 vaccinated in 1989 only, 2 vaccinated in 1989 & 1993
Population size (N)
based on # shot

Trichostrongylus tenuis

Hudson, PJ, AP Dobson, D Newborn. 1998. Prevention of Population Cycles by Parasite Removal. Science 282:2256-2258.

Brood parasites are not really parasites but do reduce λ

Eastern phoebe nest w/ brown headed cowbird egg

Wren w/ cuckoo chick

Parasites in movies - Alien

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Parasites in movies - Space Balls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVZUVeMtYXc (1:21)

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