Pro informaci o události přinášíme abstrakt původního článku. Angličtina snad nikoho neodradí :-)
Tyrannobdella
rex N. Gen. N. Sp. and the Evolutionary Origins of Mucosal Leech
Infestations
Anna J. Phillips,
Renzo Arauco-Brown,
Alejandro
Oceguera-Figueroa,
Gloria P. Gomez,
María Beltrán,
Yi-Te Lai,
Mark E. Siddall
Background
Leeches
have gained a fearsome reputation by feeding externally on blood, often
from human hosts. Orificial hirudiniasis is a condition in which a
leech enters a body orifice, most often the nasopharyngeal region, but
there are many cases of leeches infesting the eyes, urethra, vagina, or
rectum. Several leech species particularly in Africa and Asia are
well-known for their propensity to afflict humans. Because there has not
previously been any data suggesting a close relationship for such
geographically disparate species, this unnerving tendency to be invasive
has been regarded only as a loathsome oddity and not a unifying
character for a group of related organisms.
Principal Findings
A
new genus and species of leech from Peru was found feeding from the
nasopharynx of humans. Unlike any other leech previously described, this
new taxon has but a single jaw with very large teeth. Phylogenetic
analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial genes using parsimony and Bayesian
inference demonstrate that the new species belongs among a larger,
global clade of leeches, all of which feed from the mucosal surfaces of
mammals.
Conclusions
This
new species, found feeding from the upper respiratory tract of humans
in Perú, clarifies an expansion of the family Praobdellidae to include
the new species Tyrannobdella rex n. gen. n.sp., along with
others in the genera Dinobdella, Myxobdella, Praobdella and Pintobdella.
Moreover, the results clarify a single evolutionary origin of a group
of leeches that specializes on mucous membranes, thus, posing a distinct
threat to human health.
|