Cryptosporidium: Host-Parasite Interactions and Pathogenesis

Pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis: carbohydrate-mediated host-parasite interactions.

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a sight-threatening corneal infection. In a recent study, the saccharide mannose has been shown to inhibit the binding of Acanthamoeba organisms to the epithelium of the cornea (L. D. Morton, G. L. McLaughlin, and H. E. Whiteley, Infect. Immun. 59:3819-3822, 1991). In an attempt to determine the molecular mechanism by which acanthamoebae adhere to the surface of the co...

Parasite-host Interactions

Holobiont–Holobiont Interactions: Redefining Host–Parasite Interactions

The term holobiont (Greek, from holos, whole; bios, life; -ont, to be; whole unit of life) describes a long-term physical association between different living organisms [1]. Theoretically, this definition encompasses all symbiotic associations (along the mutualism–parasitism continuum) spanning all taxa. However, in most cases, the term holobiont is restricted to the host and its associated mut...

Sex-specific evolution and host–parasite interactions

Background: Disease-causing organisms are notorious for fast rates of molecular evolution and the ability to adapt rapidly to changes in their ecology. Sex plays a key role in evolution, and recent studies, in humans and other multicellular organisms, document that genes expressed principally or exclusively in males exhibit the fastest rates of adaptive evolution. However, despite the importanc...

Coevolutionary interactions between host and parasite genotypes.

More than 20 years after Dawkins introduced the concept of "extended phenotype" (i.e. phenotypes of hosts and parasites result from interactions between the two genomes) and although this idea has now reached contemporary textbooks of evolutionary biology, most studies of the evolution of host-parasite systems still focus solely on either the host or the parasite, neglecting the role of the oth...