Comparative cophylogenomics in a highly replicated system: Tinamou lice

Academy Of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a collaboration between several ornithologists and parasitologists in the USA, Brazil, and Peru to study the family tree and interactions between tinamous, one of the oldest avian lineages, and their extremely diverse parasitic feather lice. The team will use modern next generation genome sequencing approaches to analyze bird and parasite specimens and their DNA to reconstruct the genealogies and history of associations between these ancient birds and their parasites. This hyperdiverse tinamou-louse system is a model for studying broadly important patterns and processes that are critical for understanding parasite diversification and the history of colonization onto new hosts. Thus, the data analyzed for this project will fill critical knowledge gaps in our general understanding of the basic principles of host-parasite interactions and therefore has implications for better comprehension of the basic biological principles governing human parasite interactions. Undergraduate students, graduate students, a postdoctoral researcher, and three high school students will actively participate in the project and several of these trainees are from underrepresented groups. Project participants will also deposit high quality museum specimens and data into publicly available museum collections and databases. Lastly, project personnel will work with the Academy of Natural Sciences public education and exhibitions departments to participate in public outreach events and to develop an exhibit on parasite diversity and evolution. This study will use next generation whole genome sequencing to collect DNA sequences of 9 genera and 47 species of partridge-like tinamous and eighteen genera of their feather lice (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae). Tinamou feather lice are the most diverse community of feather lice found on any avian host group. However, neither tinamous nor their lice have been well studied and there are no complete published genealogies available to reconstruct the history of their host-parasite interactions over deep time scales. This exceptionally high parasite diversity on one host lineage may be a product of the ancient history of tinamous, providing extensive time for parasite speciation, colonization, and back colonization. This project aims to reconstruct robust genealogies of the tinamous and their feather lice using whole genome DNA sequence data to untangle the cophylogenetic history of their host-parasite associations. The project plan includes four major objectives: (1) reconstruct the genealogy of tinamou feather louse genera, including other major feather louse lineages, to determine whether tinamou feather lice as a whole are each other's closest relatives and whether host-switching and back colonization between tinamous and other avian families is prevalent in this louse group's diversification; (2) reconstruct a genealogy of tinamou species; (3) reconstruct genealogies of tinamou feather louse species from 10 focal genera; and (4) conduct analyses of these genealogies and associated genetic data including (a) a comparison of the genealogies of tinamou feather lice with the tinamou host phylogeny, (b) a comparison of the rates of DNA change between tinamous and their lice, and (c) a test for correlation between host and parasite body size, which is well documented in the literature but has not been well tested. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.