María Teresa Reinoso-Pérez, Keila V Dhondt, Alexander A Levitskiy, Gates Dupont, Edan R Tulman, Steven J Geary, André A Dhondt
{"title":"Are Purple Finches (<i>Haemorhous purpureus</i>) the Next Host for a Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis Epidemic?","authors":"María Teresa Reinoso-Pérez, Keila V Dhondt, Alexander A Levitskiy, Gates Dupont, Edan R Tulman, Steven J Geary, André A Dhondt","doi":"10.1637/aviandiseases-D-22-00047","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ever since 1994, when the bacterial pathogen <i>Mycoplasma gallisepticum</i> jumped from poultry to wild birds, it has been assumed that the primary host species of this pathogen in wild North American birds was the house finch (<i>Haemorhous mexicanus</i>), in which disease prevalence was higher than in any other bird species. Here we tested two hypotheses to explain a recent increase in disease prevalence in purple finches (<i>Haemorhous purpureus</i>) around Ithaca, New York. Hypothesis 1 is that, as <i>M. gallisepticum</i> evolved and became more virulent, it has also become better adapted to other finches. If this is correct, early isolates of <i>M. gallisepticum</i> should cause less-severe eye lesions in purple finches than in house finches, while more-recent isolates should cause eye lesions of similar severity in the two species. Hypothesis 2 is that, as house finch abundance declined following the <i>M. gallisepticum</i> epidemic, purple finches around Ithaca increased in abundance relative to house finches and purple finches are thus more frequently exposed to <i>M. gallisepticum</i>-infected house finches. This would then lead to an increase in <i>M. gallisepticum</i> prevalence in purple finches. Following an experimental infection with an early and a more-recent <i>M. gallisepticum</i> isolate, eye lesions in purple finches were more severe than in house finches. This did not a support Hypothesis 1; similarly, an analysis of Project Feeder Watch data collected around Ithaca did not show differences in changes in purple and house finches' abundance since 2006, a result which does not support Hypothesis 2. We conclude that purple finch populations will, unlike those of house finches, not suffer a severe decline because of a <i>M. gallisepticum</i> epidemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":8667,"journal":{"name":"Avian Diseases","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Avian Diseases","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1637/aviandiseases-D-22-00047","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ever since 1994, when the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum jumped from poultry to wild birds, it has been assumed that the primary host species of this pathogen in wild North American birds was the house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), in which disease prevalence was higher than in any other bird species. Here we tested two hypotheses to explain a recent increase in disease prevalence in purple finches (Haemorhous purpureus) around Ithaca, New York. Hypothesis 1 is that, as M. gallisepticum evolved and became more virulent, it has also become better adapted to other finches. If this is correct, early isolates of M. gallisepticum should cause less-severe eye lesions in purple finches than in house finches, while more-recent isolates should cause eye lesions of similar severity in the two species. Hypothesis 2 is that, as house finch abundance declined following the M. gallisepticum epidemic, purple finches around Ithaca increased in abundance relative to house finches and purple finches are thus more frequently exposed to M. gallisepticum-infected house finches. This would then lead to an increase in M. gallisepticum prevalence in purple finches. Following an experimental infection with an early and a more-recent M. gallisepticum isolate, eye lesions in purple finches were more severe than in house finches. This did not a support Hypothesis 1; similarly, an analysis of Project Feeder Watch data collected around Ithaca did not show differences in changes in purple and house finches' abundance since 2006, a result which does not support Hypothesis 2. We conclude that purple finch populations will, unlike those of house finches, not suffer a severe decline because of a M. gallisepticum epidemic.
期刊介绍:
Avian Diseases is an international journal dedicated to publishing original basic or clinical research of the highest quality from various disciplines including microbiology, immunology, pathology and epidemiology. Papers on avian diseases relevant to etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and control are accepted. Manuscripts dealing with avian species other than poultry will be considered only if the subject is relevant to poultry health.