Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026
09:00
A Multi-detection Assay for Malaria Transmitting Mosquitoes
Published on: February 28, 2015
13.8K
Genetic colour polymorphism is associated with avian malarial infections
Laura Gangoso1, Rafael Gutiérrez-López2, Josué Martínez-de la Puente2
1Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, C/Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain laurag@ebd.csic.es.
Biology Letters
|December 23, 2016
Summary
Bird coloration influences susceptibility to avian malaria. Darker raptors showed higher Plasmodium parasite prevalence, suggesting genetic diversity impacts host-parasite dynamics and immune response.
Area of Science:
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Immunogenetics
- Ornithology
Background:
- Individual genetic diversity is a key factor in host-parasite interactions.
- Melanin-based pigmentation genes, beyond immunity genes, can influence host-parasite dynamics through pleiotropic effects on physiology, behavior, and immunity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if avian malarial parasite prevalence differs between color morphs in a raptor species.
- To test the hypothesis that genetic variation in pigmentation affects susceptibility to blood parasites.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasite prevalence in dark and pale morphs of a raptor species.
- Utilizing existing knowledge of the genetic basis of color polymorphism and its pleiotropic effects on immunity.
Main Results:
- Dark morph raptors exhibited a higher prevalence of Plasmodium parasites compared to pale morphs.
- No significant association was found between color morph and Haemoproteus parasite prevalence.
Conclusions:
- Raptor color morph is linked to Plasmodium infection prevalence, suggesting a role for pigmentation-related genetic variation in host defense.
- Observed patterns may result from differential vector exposure or varied immune capabilities against blood parasites.
Related Concept Videos
01:39Epistasis
50.8K
In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...
50.8K
00:49Complementation Tests
6.4K
A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...
6.4K
02:27Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
7.9K
Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
7.9K
02:32Position-effect Variegation
7.2K
In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
7.2K
01:11Genetic Lingo
116.5K
Overview
116.5K
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
24.4K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
24.4K