Article
Parasitology
Denes Szaz, Peter Takacs, Adam Egri, Gabor Horvath
Summary: The advantages of zebra stripes lie in their ability to hinder blood-seeking horseflies from detecting thermal blood vessels, making them unattractive to these parasites. Field experiments have demonstrated that zebra stripes reduce the likelihood of zebras being parasitized by horseflies, as horseflies prefer hosts with a homogeneous coat on which temperature gradients above blood vessels can be easily detected.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Megan A. Hahn, Agnes Piecyk, Fatima Jorge, Robert Cerrato, Martin Kalbe, Nolwenn M. Dheilly
Summary: This study demonstrates that helminths have an impact on the gut microbiome of their host. The microbiome of stickleback fish varies depending on ecoevolutionary variables, such as the genotype of the host and parasite, and the composition of the parasite's microbiome. The study also reveals that the association between the microbiome and immune gene expression increases in infected individuals and varies with parasite genotype. Additionally, it shows that the parasite's microbiome is distinct from its host and affects the host's immune response to infection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tom Sistermans, Juliane Hartke, Marah Stoldt, Romain Libbrecht, Susanne Foitzik
Summary: Parasites with complex life cycles can induce phenotypic changes in intermediate hosts to increase transmission to the final host. The consequences of parasite load on transcriptional activity and morphology of the cestode Anomotaenia brevis and its intermediate host, the ant Temnothorax nylanderi, were investigated. The study revealed that heavily infected hosts showed a stronger immune response and fight against oxidative stress, while the cestodes became smaller when competing with other parasites for resources from a single host, indicating shifts in host immune avoidance, starvation resistance, and vesicle-mediated transport.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juhyung Lee, Timothy M. Davidson, Mark E. Torchin
Summary: The host preference of symbionts evolves from fitness trade-offs, influenced by interspecific variations in host response traits. Less defended hosts that can support higher symbiont densities without harm are preferred by symbionts. Host response traits play a crucial role in modulating a symbiont's host choice, calling for more explicit considerations of host response variability in host preference research.
Review
Biology
Alfonso Marzal, Sergio Magallanes, Luz Garcia-Longoria
Summary: Vector-borne infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever, are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods and contribute significantly to the global disease burden. Understanding the physical and chemical cues used by mosquitoes and other haemosporidian vectors to locate their hosts is crucial for designing effective strategies to prevent VBD infections. Studies on avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites have provided valuable insights into the ecological and evolutionary processes governing the dynamics of vector-borne diseases transmission.
Article
Microbiology
Lianne I. M. Lansink, Oliver P. Skinner, Jessica A. Engel, Hyun Jae Lee, Megan S. F. Soon, Cameron G. Williams, Arya SheelaNair, Clara P. S. Pernold, Pawat Laohamonthonkul, Jasmin Akter, Thomas Stoll, Michelle M. Hill, Arthur M. Talman, Andrew Russell, Mara Lawniczak, Xiaoxiao Jia, Brendon Chua, Dovile Anderson, Darren J. Creek, Miles P. Davenport, David S. Khoury, Ashraful Haque
Summary: Understanding how host inflammatory responses affect malaria parasite maturation is important. This study found that systemic host inflammation caused by innate immune stimulus or acute Plasmodium infection slows down parasite progression and inhibits maturation in vitro. The researchers also identified candidate inhibitory metabolites in the plasma that may impair parasite growth in vivo.
Article
Biology
Abdirahman Abdi, Fiona Achcar, Lauriane Sollelis, Joao Luiz Silva-Filho, Kioko Mwikali, Michelle Muthui, Shaban Mwangi, Hannah W. Kimingi, Benedict Orindi, Cheryl Andisi Kivisi, Manon Alkema, Amrita Chandrasekar, Peter C. Bull, Philip Bejon, Katarzyna Modrzynska, Teun Bousema, Matthias Marti
Summary: The malaria parasite life cycle involves asexual replication in human blood and differentiation into gametocytes for transmission to mosquitoes. Host factors influence the commitment to differentiate into gametocytes, but the exact mechanism is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed data from 828 children in Kenya over 18 years to understand the relationship between host immunity, parasite growth, and transmission investment. We found that reduced plasma lysophosphatidylcholine levels, which are associated with inflammatory responses, are correlated with increased transmission investment and reduced asexual replication.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raquel A. Rodrigues, Gabriel M. F. Felix, Mauro Pichorim, Patricia A. Moreira, Erika M. Braga
Summary: The study investigated avian haemosporidian parasites in a protected area in northeastern Brazil, showing that migration and temperature may predict parasite prevalence. Individual-level traits and other species-specific factors were not related to infection probability.
Article
Immunology
Patrick J. Skelly, Akram A. Da'dara
Summary: Schistosomes are parasitic worms that infect millions of people globally. Researchers have discovered a second gene responsible for surface acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, which is essential for the worms' ability to establish infection. This finding clarifies confusion regarding schistosome AChEs and could lead to new therapeutics for schistosomiasis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Tara E. Stewart Merrill, Dana M. Calhoun, Pieter T. J. Johnson
Summary: Understanding the capacity of different species to support parasite transmission, known as "competence", is crucial for modeling transmission and testing diversity-disease theory. However, the factors that generate competence and drive its variation are not well understood. This study developed novel approaches to systematically quantify competence for a multi-host, multi-parasite community. The findings suggest that variation in competence is mainly driven by differences in barrier resistance and pre-transmission mortality, highlighting the importance of host resistance and parasite pathogenicity. Host species identity was found to be a strong predictor of competence variation. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of infection and epidemiological patterns.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Xiaolin Sui, Kaiyun Guan, Yan Chen, Ruijuan Xue, Airong Li
Summary: This study investigated the influence of mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on the growth and photosynthesis of leguminous and gramineous plants in the presence of a root hemiparasitic plant. The results showed that AM colonization significantly improved the growth and photosynthetic capacity of parasitized leguminous plants, while slightly improving the shoot biomass of grass hosts by suppressing haustoria formation and the growth of the root hemiparasitic plant.
Review
Immunology
Annemarie Voorberg-van der Wel, Clemens H. M. Kocken, Anne-Marie Zeeman
Summary: Recent studies on liver stage malaria parasite-host interactions have shed light on the intricate cross-talk between the parasite and its mammalian host, particularly focusing on the interactions between hypnozoites and hepatocytes. Understanding these interactions may help identify factors that could awaken dormant parasite reservoirs, potentially leading to the total eradication of malaria.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Zhiyuan Yang, Mai Shi, Xiaoli Zhang, Danyu Yao
Summary: This study dissected the genomic and transcriptomic profiles of T. brucei, identifying a panel of pathogenic proteins and microRNAs. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the parasite-host interaction mechanisms and provide new insights for designing preventive and therapeutic strategies for African trypanosomiasis.
Article
Ecology
Dongmin Kim, Allison K. Shaw
Summary: Migration can minimize the risks and costs of parasite infection, with hosts using strategies of migration or tolerance to deal with infection. Combining two host defense strategies may not always benefit hosts, depending on the costs and benefits of the strategies and infection pressures.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
David Duval, Pierre Poteaux, Benjamin Gourbal, Anne Rognon, Ronaldo De Carvalho Augusto
Summary: This article introduces a fluorescence imaging-based method that uses fluorescent probes to study parasite infections in snails. The method is simple and sensitive, making it highly useful for understanding the mechanisms of host-parasite interactions.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Denes Szaz, Alexandra Farkas, Andras Barta, Balazs Kretzer, Miklos Blaho, Adam Egri, Gyula Szabo, Gabor Horvath
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabor Horvath, Tamas Szorenyi, Adam Pereszlenyi, Balazs Gerics, Ramon Hegedus, Andras Barta, Susanne Akesson
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adam Egri, Denes Szaz, Alexandra Farkas, Adam Pereszlenyi, Gabor Horvath, Gyorgy Kriska
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabor Horvath, Peter Takacs, Balazs Kretzer, Szilvia Szilasi, Denes Szaz, Alexandra Farkas, Andras Barta
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabor Horvath, Adam Pereszlenyi, Susanne Akesson, Gyorgy Kriska
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Parasitology
Gabor Horvath, Adam Pereszlenyi, Adam Egri, Benjamin Fritz, Markus Guttmann, Uli Lemmer, Guillaume Gomard, Gyorgy Kriska
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabor Horvath, Adam Pereszlenyi, Adam Egri, Timea Toth, Imre Miklos Janosi
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benjamin Fritz, Gabor Horvath, Ruben Hunig, Adam Pereszlenyi, Adam Egri, Markus Guttmann, Marc Schneider, Uli Lemmer, Gyorgy Kriska, Guillaume Gomard
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zoltan Kovacs, Zoltan Udvarnoki, Eszter Papp, Gabor Horvath
Summary: The moon illusion is a visual deception where the Moon/Sun near the horizon is perceived larger than when higher in the sky. Artists often exaggerate the size of the Moon/Sun in their paintings. Measurements from paintings show that painters overestimate the Moon's size on average by 2.1 times, while test persons in landscape photos overestimate the Moon's size by 1.6 times.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peter Takacs, Denes Szaz, Adam Pereszlenyi, Gabor Horvath
Summary: Despite the lack of a magnetic compass, Viking sailors could navigate successfully with a sun-compass in sunny weather, and may have used sky-polarimetric Viking navigation (SPVN) in cloudy or foggy conditions. This study, through simulations of Viking voyages, reveals the significance of night sailing, navigation periodicity, and sailing date for the success of navigation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peter Takacs, Judit Sliz-Balogh, Akos Horvath, Daniel Horvath, Imre M. Janosi, Gabor Horvath
Summary: This study found that in the Northern Hemisphere, the ideal azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels may turn eastward from south if afternoons are cloudier than mornings on average throughout the year. This deviation can be considered in the design of buildings with vertical walls or oblique roofs.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peter Takacs, Denes Szaz, Miklos Vincze, Judit Sliz-Balogh, Gabor Horvath
Summary: Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for the functions of zebra stripes. The most supported hypothesis suggests that zebra stripes make them less attractive to horseflies. Sunlight creates temperature gradients on the skin of zebras, which are difficult for horseflies to distinguish from the gradients caused by the black and white stripes. Field experiments confirm that horseflies spend more time on black stripes in the sun due to their warmer temperature, increasing the chance of being swatted by the host.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Judit Sliz-Balogh, Attila Madai, Pal Sari, Andras Barta, Gabor Horvath
Summary: In 1961, Kordylewski discovered two bright patches near the L5 Lagrange point of the Earth-Moon system, which are known as Kordylewski dust clouds. Despite initial skepticism about their existence, the L5 Kordylewski dust cloud has been observed and confirmed multiple times through visual, photometric, and polarimetric techniques. In this study, the polarimetric evidence for the existence of the L4 Kordylewski dust cloud is presented, further corroborating the existence of the L5 Kordylewski dust cloud for the third time.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabor Horvath, Denes Hegedus, Judit Sliz-Balogh
Summary: This study reveals the effects of centrifugal acceleration, Coriolis acceleration, and athlete's height on the world-record ranking of shot put and hammer throw. Height has the largest impact on range, followed by centrifugal acceleration, while Coriolis acceleration has the least impact. Using the release velocity of the shot/hammer as a better measure of world-record ranking than the range.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)