School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia.
Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.
Proc Biol Sci. 2024 Feb 14;291(2016):20232403. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2403.
By imposing novel selection pressures on both participants, biological invasions can modify evolutionary 'arms races' between hosts and parasites. A spatially replicated cross-infection experiment reveals strong spatial divergence in the ability of lungworms () to infect invasive cane toads () in Australia. In areas colonized for longer than 20 years, toads are more resistant to infection by local strains of parasites than by allopatric strains. The situation reverses at the invasion front, where super-infective parasites have evolved. Invasion-induced shifts in genetic diversity and selective pressures may explain why hosts gain advantage over parasites in long-colonized areas, whereas parasites gain advantage at the invasion front.
通过对参与者同时施加新的选择压力，生物入侵可以改变宿主和寄生虫之间的进化“军备竞赛”。一项在空间上重复的交叉感染实验揭示了在澳大利亚，肺蠕虫（）感染入侵的甘蔗蟾蜍（）的能力存在强烈的空间差异。在殖民时间超过 20 年的地区，蟾蜍对本地寄生虫菌株的感染比异地寄生虫菌株的感染更具抵抗力。这种情况在入侵前线发生了逆转，那里进化出了超感染性寄生虫。入侵引起的遗传多样性和选择压力的变化可能解释了为什么宿主在长期殖民地区比寄生虫更具优势，而寄生虫在入侵前线更具优势。
