Experimental Infections Reveal Acquired Zoonotic Capacity of Human Schistosomiasis Trough Hybridization

Bruno Polack (1) , Eglantine Mathieu-Bégné (2) , Isabelle Vallée (1) , Anne Rognon (3) , Jean-Jacques Fontaine (1) , Eve Toulza (3) , Myriam Thomas (1) , Jérôme Boissier (3)

1 BIPAR - Biologie moléculaire et immunologie parasitaires et fongiques
2 EDB - Evolution et Diversité Biologique
3 IHPE - Interactions Hôtes-Pathogènes-Environnements

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.

Mots clés: Emergence; Hybrids; Livestock; Schistosomiasis; Zoonoses

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Microbiologie et Parasitologie; Parasitologie

Bruno Polack, Eglantine Mathieu-Bégné, Isabelle Vallée, Anne Rognon, Jean-Jacques Fontaine, et al.. Experimental Infections Reveal Acquired Zoonotic Capacity of Human Schistosomiasis Trough Hybridization. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2024, ⟨10.1093/infdis/jiae152⟩. ⟨hal-04562390⟩