Article
Clonal diversity within infections and the virulence of a malaria parasite, Plasmodium mexicanum.
Parasitology - 1 Oct 2008
Vardo-Zalik A M, Schall J J
Abstract excerpt
Both verbal and mathematical models of parasite virulence predict that genetic diversity of microparasite infections will influence the level of costs suffered by the host. We tested this idea by manipulating the number of co-existing clones of Plasmodium mexicanum in its natural vertebrate host, the fence lizard Sceloporus occidentalis. We established replicate infections of P. mexicanum made up of 1, 2, 3, or...
Topics
- Animals
- Genetic Variation
- Lizards
- Male
- Parasitemia
- Plasmodium
- Virulence