Seminar KLIVV 2005-06-15

 

Dieter Ebert
University of Basel, Switzerland

Title
Host-parasite coevolution: Evidence from experiments with Daphnia

Abstract
Parasites are assumed to evolve to optimise their exploitation of hosts, while hosts evolve to minimize the damage done by the parasite. In coevolutionary models of this process high specificity in host parasite interactions are assumed. These interactions result in rapid response to selection, i.e. genotype frequency changes within a few host generations.
In the Daphnia system this can be conveniently addressed experimentally. In the first part of my talk I present a number of experiments, which we undertook to understand the details of host-parasite coevolution. I show that host-parasite interactions are indeed highly specific and that populations evolve rapidly in response to parasite mediated selection.
The second part of my talk addresses the consequences of host-parasite coevolution. I talk about the evolution of virulence, the evolution of host life-histories and the maintenance of genetic variation.

The study system:
Experiments are conducted with the Daphnia magna - microparasite system. D. magna reproduce clonally in the laboratory with a generation time of only 10 days. Populations can be easily studied in the laboratory and under field conditions, so that epidemiological aspects of host-parasite interactions can be considered. Microparasites of Daphnia include microsporidia and bacteria. The experiments presented employs competition and invasion experiments (among parasites and among Daphnia hosts clones), as well as experimental evolution.

 

University education and qualification
1981 - 1985: Technical University of Munich. Pre-diploma in biology and chemistry (October 1983). Degree with 'excellence'.
Sept. 1985 - Aug. 1986: University of South Alabama in Mobile/ Alabama, USA.
1986 - 1988: Technical University of Munich. Diploma in biology.
May 1987 - July 1988: Diploma thesis in the group of Prof. Dr. J. Jacobs at the Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich, Germany. Degree with 'summa cum laude'
1988 - 1991: PhD with Prof. S. C. Stearns at the University of Basel/Switzerland. Degree with 'summa cum laude'

 

Academic Career
May - Sept. 1991: Visiting scientist at the I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics in Moscow, Russia and the Limnological Institute in Irkutsk/Lake Baikal (Russian Academy of Science)
Dec. 1991 - March 1992: Short Term Fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panamá. Field study on a tropical colonial spider
March 1992 -Feb. 1994: Post-doc with Prof. Dr. W.D. Hamilton, F.R.S. at the University of Oxford, UK. Member of New College, Oxford
March 1994 - Oct. 1995: Post-doc with Prof. John Lawton in the NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, UK
Oct. 1995 - 2001: 'Assistent' at the Institute of Zoology, Basle University, Basel, Switzerland
June 2001 - Sept. 2004: Professor (Chair) in Ecology & Evolution, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland
Oct. 2004 - present: Professor (Chair) for zoologie and evolutionary biology, Zoologisches Institut der Universität Basel

 

Selected recent publications

A. Publications in international refereed journals

  • Decaestecker , E., Declerck, S., De Meester, L. & Ebert, D. 2005. Ecological implications of parasites in natural Daphnia populations. Oecologia (in press).
  • Vizoso, D. B. & D. Ebert. 2005. Phenotypic plasticity of host-parasite interactions in response to the route of infection. Journal of evolutionary biology (in press).
  • Zbinden, M., S. Lass, D. Refardt, J. Hottinger & Dieter Ebert 2005. Octosporea bayeri: Fumidil B inhibits vertical transmission in Daphnia magna. Experimental Parasitology (in press).
  • Vizoso, D. B., Lass, S. & D. Ebert. 2005. Different mechanisms of transmission of the microsporidium Octosporea bayeri: a cocktail of solutions for the problem of parasite permanence Parasitology (in press).
  • Vizoso, D. B. & D. Ebert. 2005. Mixed inoculations of a microsporidian parasite with horizontal and vertical infections. Oecologia (Berlin) (in press).
  • Fels, D., Lee, V. A. & Ebert, D. 2004. The impact of microparasites on the vertical distribution of Daphnia magna. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 161:65-80.
  • Ebert, D., Carius, H.J., Little, T. & Decaestecker, E. 2004. The evolution of virulence when parasites cause host castration and gigantism. The American Naturalist 164:S19-S32.
  • Ebert, D., Salathé, P. & Kawecki, T.J. 2004. Evidence for epistasis: Reply to Trouve et al. Journal of evolutionary biology 17:1402-1404.
  • Haag, C.R. & Ebert, D. 2004. Parasite-mediated selection in experimental metapopulations of Daphnia magna. Proc. Roy. Soc. B., 271: 2149–2155.
  • Haag, C.R. & Ebert, D. 2004. A new hypothesis to explain geographic parthenogenesis. Ann. Zool. Fennici 41:539-544.
  • Schneider, A. & Ebert, D. 2004. Covariation of mitochondrial genome size with gene lengths: Evidence for gene length reduction during mitochondrial evolution. Journal of Molecular Evolution 59:90-96.
  • Decaestecker, E., Lefever, C., De Meester, L. & Ebert, D. 2004. Haunted by the past: evidence for resting stage banks of microparasites and epibionts of Daphnia. Limnology and Oceanography 49:1355-1364.
  • Mucklow, P.T., Vizoso, D.B., Jensen, K.H., Refardt, D., Ebert, D. 2004. Variation for phenoloxidase activity and its relation to parasite resistance within and between populations of Daphnia magna. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 271:1175-1183.
  • Pulkkinen, K. & Ebert, D. 2004. Host starvation decreases parasite load and mean host size in experimental populations. Ecology 85:823-833.
  • Vizoso, D. B. & D. Ebert. 2004. Within-host dynamics of a microsporidium with horizontal and vertical transmission: Octosporea bayeria in Daphnia magna. Parasitology 128:31-38.
  • Mucklow, P.T. & Ebert, D. 2003. Physiology of immunity in the water flea Daphnia magna: Environmental and genetic aspects of phenoloxidase activity. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 76: 836-842.
  • Regoes, R.R., Hottinger, J.W., Sygnarski, L. & Ebert, D. 2003. The Infection Rate of Daphnia magna by Pasteuria ramosa conforms with the Mass-Action Principle. Epidemiology and Infection 131:957-966.
  • Salathé, P. & Ebert, D. 2003. The effects of parasitism and inbreeding on the competitive ability in Daphnia magna: evidence for synergistic epistasis. J. evol. Biol. 16:976-985.
  • Capaul, M. & Ebert, D. 2003. Parasite mediated selection in experimental populations of Daphnia magna. Evolution 57:245-260.
  • Decaestecker, E., Vergote, A., Ebert, D. & De Meester, L. 2003. Evidence for strong host clone-parasite species interaction in the Daphnia microparasite system. Evolution 57:784-792.
  • Haag, C. J., O. Sakwinska, and D. Ebert. 2003. Test of synergistic interaction between infection and inbreeding in Daphnia magna. Evolution 57:777-783.
  • Little, T. J., H. J. Carius, O. Sakwinska, and D. Ebert. 2002. Competitiveness and life-history characteristics of Daphnia with respect to susceptibility to a parasite. J. evol. Biol. 15:796-802.
  • Decaestecker, E., De Meester, L. & Ebert, D. 2002. In deep trouble: Habitat selection constrained by multiple enemies in zooplankton. PNAS USA 99: 5481-5485.
  • Haag, C. J. Hottinger, M. Riek & D. Ebert. 2002. Strong inbreeding depression in a Daphnia metapopulation. Evolution 56:518-526.
  • Refardt, D, Canning, E.U., Mathis, A., Cheney, S.A., Lafranchi-Tristem, N.J. & Ebert, D. 2002. Small subunit ribosomal DNA phylogeny of microsporidia that infect Daphnia (Crustacea: cladocera) Parasitology 124:381-389.
  • Regoes, R. R., D. Ebert, and S. Bonhoeffer. 2002. Dose-dependent infection rates of parasites produce Allee effect in epidemiology. Proc. Roy. Soc. B. 269: 271-279.
  • Ebert, D., C. Haag, M. Kirkpatrick, M. Riek, J.W. Hottinger and V.I. Pajunen. 2002. Outbreeding confers a selective advantage to immigrant genes in a metapopulation. Science 295:485-488.
  • Bittner, K., Rothhaupt, K.O. & Ebert, D. 2002. Ecological interactions of the microparasite Caullerya mesnili and its host Daphnia galeata. Limnology and Oceanography 47: 300-305
  • Ebert, D., Hottinger J.W. & Pajunen, V.I. 2001. Temporal and spatial dynamics of parasite richness in a Daphnia metapopulation Ecology 82: 3417–3434.
  • Canning, E. U., A. Curry, S. A. Chenney, N. J. Lafranchi-Tristem, D. Ebert, D. Refardt, M. Killick-Kendrick, and R. Killick-Kendrick. 2001. Flabelliforma montana (Phylum Microsporidia) from Phlebotomus ariasi (Diptera, Psychodidae): ultrastructural observations and phylogenetic relationships. Europ. J. Protistology 37:207-221.
  • Carius, H.J., Little, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2001. Genetic variation in a host - parasite association: potential for coevolution and frequency dependent selection. Evolution 55:1136-1145
  • Little, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2001. Temporal patterns of genetic variation for resistance and infectivity in a Daphnia-microparasite system. Evolution, 55:1146-1152
  • Ebert, D., Lipsitch, M. & Mangin, K.L. 2000. The effect of parasites on host population density and extinction: experimental epidemiology with Daphnia and six microparasites. American Naturalist 156: 459-477.
  • Little, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2000. The cause of parasitic infection in natural populations of Daphnia (Crustacea, Cladocera): the role of host genetics. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London, B267-2037-2043.
  • Little, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2000. Sex, linkage disequilibrium and patterns of parasitism in three species of cyclically parthenogenetic Daphnia (Cladocera: Crustacea). Heredity 85: 257-265.
  • Ebert, D., Zschokke-Rohringer, C.D. & Carius, H.J. 2000. Dose effects and density dependent regulation of two microparasites of Daphnia magna. Oecologia (Berlin) 122: 200-209.
  • Little, T. & Ebert, D. 1999. Associations between parasitism and host genotype in natural populations of Daphnia (Crustacea: Cladocera). Journal of Animal Ecology 68: 134-149.
  • Ebert, D. 1998. Infectivity, dose effects, and the genetic correlation between within-host growth and parasite virulence. Evolution 52: 1869-1871.
  • Ebert, D., Zschokke-Rohringer, C.D. & Carius, H.J. 1998. Within and between population variation for resistance of Daphnia magna to the bacterial endoparasite Pasteuria ramosa. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 265: 2127-2134.
  • Ebert, D. 1998. Behavioural asymmetry in relation to body weight and hunger in the tropical social spider Anelosimus eximius (Araneae, Theridiidae). J. of Arachnology 26: 70-80.
  • Larsson, J.I.R., Ebert, D., Mangin, K.L. & Vavra, J. 1998. Ultrastructural study and description of Flabelliforma magnivora n. sp. (Microspora, Duboscqiidae), a new microsporidian parasite of Daphnia magna. Acta Protozoologica 37:41-52.
  • Bengtsson, J. & Ebert, D. 1998. Distribution and impacts of microparasites on Daphnia in a rockpool metapopulation. Oecologia 115:213-221.
  • Ebert, D. & Mangin, K.L. 1997. The influence of host demography on the evolution of virulence of a microsporidian gut parasite. Evolution 51:1828-1837.
  • Larsson, J.I.R., Ebert, D. & Vavra, J. 1997. Ultrastructural study and description of Ordospora colligata gen. et sp. nov. (Microspora, Ordosporidae fam. nov.), a new microsporidian parasite of Daphnia magna (Crustacea, Cladocera). European Journal of Protistology 33:432-443.
  • Ebert, D. & Weisser, W.W. 1997. Optimal killing for obligate killers: the evolution of life histories and virulence of semelparous parasites. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 264:985-991.
  • McKee, D. & Ebert, D. 1997. Clutch size in Daphnia: even versus odd? Archive für Hydrobiologie 139: 163-169.
  • Stirnadel, A.H. & Ebert, D. 1997. Prevalence, host specificity and impact on host fecundity of microparasites and epibionts in three sympatric Daphnia species. Journal of Animal Ecology 66:212-222.
  • Larsson, J.I.R., Ebert, D. & Vavra, J. 1996 Ultrastructural study of Glugea cladocera Pfeiffer, 1895, and transfer to the Genus Agglomerata (Microspora, Duboscqiidae). European Journal of Protistology 32:412-422.
  • Ebert, D., Rainey, P., Embley, T.M. & Scholz, D. 1996. Development, life cycle, ultrastructure and phylogenetic position of Pasteuria ramosa Metchnikoff 1888: rediscovery of an obligate endoparasite of Daphnia magna Straus. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series B 351:1689-1701.
  • McKee, D. & Ebert, D. 1996. The effect of temperature on maturation threshold body-length in Daphnia magna. Oecologia 108:627-630.
  • McKee, D. & Ebert, D. 1996. The Interactive effects of temperature, food level and maternal phenotype on offspring size in Daphnia magna. Oecologia 107:189-196.
  • Bonhoeffer, S. Ebert, D. & Lenski, R. E. 1996. The curse of the pharaoh: the evolution of virulence in pathogens with long living propagules. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London, B. 263:715-721.
  • Larsson, J.I.R., Ebert, D., Vavra, J. & Voronin, V.N. 1996. Redescription of Pleistophora intestinalis Chatton, 1907, a microsporidian parasite of Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex, with establishment of the new genus Glugoides (Microspora, Glugeidae). European Journal of Protozoology 32: 251-261.
  • Lipsitch, M., Nowak, M.A., Ebert, D. & May, R.M. 1995. The population dynamics of vertically and horizontally transmitted parasites. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London, B. 260:321-327.
  • Mangin, K.L., Lipsitch, M. & Ebert, D. 1995. Virulence and transmission modes of two microsporidia in Daphnia magna. Parasitology 111:133-142.
  • Ebert, D. 1995. The ecological interaction between a microsporidian parasite and its host Daphnia magna. Journal of Animal Ecology 64:361-369.
  • Ebert, D. 1994.Virulence and local adaptation of a horizontally transmitted parasite. Science 265:1084-1086.
  • Yampolsky, L.Y., Kamaltynov, R.M., Ebert, D., Filatov, D.A. & Chernykh, V. 1994. Variation in allozyme loci in endemic gammarids of Lake Baikal. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 53:309-323.
  • Yampolsky, L.Y. & Ebert, D. 1994. Variation and plasticity of biomass allocation in Daphnia. Functional Ecology 8:435-440.
  • Ebert, D. 1994. A maturation size threshold and phenotypic plasticity of age and size at maturity in Daphnia magna. Oikos, 69:309-317.
  • Ebert, D. 1994. Fractional resource allocation into few eggs: Daphnia as an example. Ecology, 75:568-571.
  • Ebert, D. 1994. Genetic differences in the interactions of a microsporidian parasite and four clones of its cyclically parthenogenetic host. Parasitology, 108:11-16.
  • Ebert, D., Yampolsky, L.Y. & Stearns, S.C. 1993. Genetics of life history traits in Daphnia magna: I. Heritabilities at two food levels. Heredity, 70:335-343.
  • Ebert, D., Yampolsky, L.Y. & van Noordwijk, A.J. 1993. Genetics of life history traits in Daphnia magna: II. Phenotypic plasticity. Heredity, 70:344-352.
  • Ebert, D. 1993. The trade-off between offspring size and number in Daphnia magna: The influence of genetic, environmental and maternal effects. Monograph in Archiv für Hydrobiologie S90, 4:453-473.
  • Ebert, D. & Yampolsky, L.Y. 1992. Family planning in Daphnia: When is clutch size determined? Russian Journal of Aquatic Ecology, 1:143-147.
  • Ebert, D. 1992. A food-independent maturation threshold and size at maturity in Daphnia magna. Limnology and Oceanography 37:878-881.
  • Ebert, D. 1991. The effect of size at birth, maturation threshold and genetic differences on the life history of Daphnia magna. Oecologia (Berlin) 86:243-250.
  • Ebert, D. & Jacobs, J. 1991. Differences in life history and aging in two clonal groups of Daphnia cucullata Sars (Crustacea: Cladocera). Hydrobiologia 225:245-253.
B. Reviews
  • Kawecki, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2004. Conceptual issues in local adaptation. Ecological Letters 7:1225–1241.
  • Ebert, D. & Bull, J.J. 2003. Revisiting Virulence Management. Trends in Microbiology 11:208-209 (see also Comments in TiM by Elliot (page 205) and Gandon & Troy (pp. 206 - 206)).
  • Ebert, D. & Bull, J.J. 2003. Challenging the trade-off model for the evolution of virulence: Is virulence management feasible? Trends in Microbiology 11:15-20.
  • Schmid-Hempel, P. & Ebert, D. 2003. On the evolutionary ecology of specific immune defence. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18:27-32.
  • Stearns, S.C. and Ebert, D. 2001. Evolution in health and disease: Work in progress. Quarterly Review of Biology 76: 417-432.
  • Ebert, D. 1998. Experimental evolution of parasites. Science 282: 1432-1435.
  • Ebert, D. & Hamilton, W.D. 1996. Sex against virulence: the coevolution of parasitic diseases. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11:79-82.
  • Ebert, D. & Herre, E.A. 1996. The evolution of parasitic disease. Parasitology Today 12:96-101.
  • Ebert, D. 1995. Variation in parasite virulence is not an indicator for the evolution of benevolence. Conservation Biology 9:1652-1653.
C. Book chapters
  • Ebert, D. 2005. How to catch the Red Queen? In: Narrow Roads of Gene Land, Vol. 3. (ed. M. Ridely). Oxford University Press (in press).
  • Little, T.J. & Ebert, D. 2004. Evolutionary dynamics in Daphnia and their microparasites. In: Infectious Disease: Host-Pathogen Evolution (ed. K.R. Dronamraju).Cambridge University Press, UK pp. 222-240.
  • Agnew, P., Becknel, J., Ebert, D. and Michalakis, Y. 2003. Symbiosis of microsporidia and insects. In: Insect symbiosis (eds. Bourtzis, K. and Miller, Th.) pp.145-165.
  • Ebert, D. 2000. Experimental evidence for rapid parasite adaptation and its consequences for the evolution of virulence. In: Host-parasite evolution (eds. R. Poulin, S. Morand & A. Skorping) Elsevier pp. 163-184.
  • Ebert, D. 1999. The evolution and expression of virulence. In: Evolution in health and disease (ed. S.C. Stearns) Oxford University Press, Oxford. pp.161-172.
  • Read, A.F., Aaby, P., Antia, R., Ebert, D., Ewald, P.W., Gupta, S., Holmes, E.C., Sasaki, A., Shields, D., Taddei, F. & Moxon, R. 1999. What Can Evolutionary Biology Contribute To Understanding Virulence? In: Evolution in health and disease (ed. S.C. Stearns) Oxford University Press, Oxford. pp. 205-215.
  • Gandon, S., Ebert, D., Olivieri, I. & Michalakis, Y. 1998. Differential adaptation in spatially heterogeneous environments and host-parasite coevolution. In: Genetic Variation and Local Adaptation in Natural Insect Populations: Effects of Ecology, Life History, and Behavior (eds. S. Mopper & S. Strauss) Chapman & Hall, New York. pp. 325-341.
  • Ebert, D. 1997. The evolution and genetics of maturation in Daphnia. In Evolutionary Ecology of Freshwater Animals: Concepts and Case Studies (eds. B.Streit, T. Staedler, C. Lively) Birkhäuser Verlag. pp. 151-178.
  • Ebert, D. Payne, R. & Weisser, W.W. 1997. The epidemiology of infectious diseases in zooplankton. In: Vertical Food Web Interactions: Evolutionary Patterns and Driving Forces. (eds. K. Dettner, G. Bauer & W. Völkl) Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, (Ecological Studies, Vol. 130) pp. 91-111.
  • Jones, J.S., Ebert, D. & Stearns, S.C. 1991. Life-history and mechanical constraints on the reproduction in genes, cells and waterfleas. In 'Genes in Ecology' (eds. S.Berry, T.J. Crawford & G.M. Hewitt) Blackwell, Oxford, pp.393-404.
D. Miscellaneous publications
  • Ebert, D. 1999. contributions to the 'Dictionary of Ecology' and the 'Dictionary of Environmental Managment', Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
  • Ebert, D. 1998. contributions to 'The Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental Management' by P. Calow (Editor), Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
  • Gandon, S., Michalakis, Y., & Ebert, D. 1996. Temporal variability and local adaptation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11:431.
  • Ebert, D. & Mangin, K.L. 1995. The evolution of virulence - when familiarity breeds death. Biologist 42:154-156.
  • Ebert, D. 1995. The co-evolution of a microparasites and a facultatively sexual host. Bulletin of the Scandinavian Society for Parasitology 5:4.
  • Ebert, D. & Lorenzi, R. 1994. Parasites and polymorphism. Nature (London) 369:705-706.
E. Book reviews
  • Steven A. Frank, 2002. Immunology and Evolution of Infectious Disease. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. 348pp. and: U. Dieckmann, J.A.J. Metz, M.W. Sabelis, and K. Sigmund (eds). 2002. Adaptive Dynamics of Infectious Diseases: In pursuit of virulence management. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 523 pp. (reviewed by J. J. Bull & D. Ebert. 2003. Evolution 57:441-443).
  • Trevathan, W.R., Smith, E.O. & McKenna, J.J. Evolutionary Medicine. (reviewed by D. Ebert & N. V. Sokolova. 2000. Journal of Evolutionary Biology . 14:194-196).
  • Takahata, N. & Clark, A.G. (eds.). Mechanisms of molecular evolution. (reviewed by D. Ebert. 1995. The Biologist . 43: 191-192).
  • Jeffries, P.H. & Young, T. Interfungal parasitic relationships. (reviewed by D. Ebert. 1995. The Biologist 42:183).
  • Cox, F.E.G. Modern Parasitology. The Biologist. (reviewed by D. Ebert. 1994. The Biologist 41:182).
F. Published Abstracts