Experimental Infections Reveal Acquired Zoonotic Capacity of Human Schistosomiasis Trough Hybridization

作者：Bruno Polack, Eglantine Mathieu‐Bégné, Isabelle Vallée, Anne Rognon, Jean‐Jacques Fontaine, Ève Toulza, Myriam Thomas, Jérôme Boissier · 发表于：The Journal of Infectious Diseases · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/infdis/jiae152 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Parasites and Host Interactions、Parasite Biology and Host Interactions、Zoonotic diseases and public health

We are currently witnessing the endemization of urogenital schistosomiasis in southern Europe. The incriminated parasite is a hybrid between a human parasite and a livestock parasite. Using an experimental evolutionary protocol, we created hybrid lines from pure strains of both parasite species. We showed that the host spectrum of the human parasite is enlarged to the livestock parasite after genomic introgression. We also evidenced that the tropism of the parasites within the host changes and that some hybrid lines are more virulent than the parental strains. These results engage a paradigm shift from human to zoonotic transmission of urogenital schistosomiasis.