 |
| Karina Ivanova, PhD student |
I started my work in the research group of avian blood parasites as a
Master student and the study I was engaged with was focused on exploring Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. from diverse avian host species in little studied
regions where expeditions were organized during the project “A survey of the
tapeworms (Cestoda: Platyhelminthes) from the vertebrate bowels of the earth”.
The project was funded by the program “Planetary Biodiversity Inventory” of the
U.S. National Science Foundation. Expeditions and bird catching were conducted
by cestode experts Prof Boyko Georgiev (Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Research) and Prof Jean Mariaux (Natural History Museum of Geneve).
We started with examining places
in Asia, specifically in China and Malaysia and continued with Madagascar as
underexplored region. These were the first records of the genetic diversity of
haemosporidian parasites for China and Malaysia. In order to examine
haemosporidian diversity in these poorly investigated areas, we are applying a
combination of methods (molecular and morphological) for detecting these
parasite genera. We are first describing the cytochrome b lineage diversity found in explored bird individuals. The
implication of nested PCR method gives an opportunity to better register the
diversity of natural avian hematozoa infections by its improved efficiency.
Secondly, using microscopic tools we are gaining information about intensities
of infection, potential for transmission and prevalence comparisons.
Additionally, we are now examining Leucocytozoon species in Madagascar. The new
information gained in these studies will help to understand better the geographic
pattern in the distribution of haemosporidian parasites and the processes of colonization
of new host species.
