Our research is mainly focused on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of origin, evolution and relationships of parasitic organisms. It further involves investigation into their co-evolution with hosts, biogeography and other bionomical features, including intraspecific variability and genealogy.
Skuce P., Stenhouse L., Jackson F., Hypša V., Gilleard J. (2010) Benzimidazole resistance allele haplotype diversity in United Kingdom isolates of Teladorsagia circumcincta supports a hypothesis of multiple origins of resistance by recurrent mutation. International Journal for Parasitology 40: 1247–1255.
Husník F., Chrudimský T., Hypša V. (2011) Multiple origins of endosymbiosis within the Enterobacteriaceae (γ-Proteobacteria): convergence of complex phylogenetic approaches. BMC Biology 9: e87. (link)
Kilian P., Růžek D., Danielová V., Hypša V., Grubhoffer L. (2010) Nucleotide variability of Ťahyňa virus (Bunyaviridae, Orthobunyavirus) small (S) and medium (M) genomic segments in field strains differing in biological properties. Virus Research 149: 119–123.
Kvičerová J., Mikeš V., Hypša V. (2011) Third lineage of rodent eimerians: Morphology, phylogeny and re-description of Eimeria myoxi (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Eliomys quercinus (Rodentia: Gliridae). Parasitology 138: 1217-1223.
Štefka J., Hoeck P.E.A., Keller L.F., Smith V.S. (2011) A hitchhikers guide to the Galapagos: co-phylogeography of Galapagos mockingbirds and their parasites. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: e284.
Several lineages of symbiotic bacteria in parasitic arthropods were identified and characterized using the gene for 16S rRNA. In the pupiparan families Nycteribiidae and Hippoboscidae, the bacteria form monophyletic lineages, while symbiosis has arisen several times during the evolution in lice. Significant degenerative processes detected in genomes of all analyzed lineages, such as increased AT content, support a P-symbiont nature of these bacteria. Together with the absence of symbionts in some louse species, these findings suggest that the P-symbionts may not be essential for survival of hematophagous insects. In ticks, the analyzed symbiotic bacteria formed a diversified assemblage of various microorganisms.
A high intraspecific and intraindividual variability was detected within the 16S-23S operon of the bacterium Arsenophonus triatominarum from 17 species of triatomine bugs. This variability was shown to interfere with reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships within the lineage.
A combined analysis encompassing several types of molecular data, including secondary structure prediction in selected DNA regions, was performed to reconstruct phylogeny of proteocephalidean tapeworms and to assess their coevolution with the hosts. The results obtained from a species-rich fauna from South America indicate that the occurrence of these tapeworms within host taxa reflects frequent host switches rather than a coevolutionary/cophylogenetic process. A comparative analysis shows that the current parasite distribution may have been influenced by bionomical features of their hosts and introduction from North America.
Molecular data set was obtained for Bothriocephalus tapeworms, parasitizing mostly freshwater fishes, and several related genera within the order Proteocephalidea. The results obtained by phylogenetic analyzes show that the genus Bothriocephalus is a paraphyletic, and thus, artificial assemblage. This finding indicates that further analysis will likely result in an extensive reclassifications of this group, including the position of the broadfish tapeworm, Diphyllobothrium latum, the most important species of cestodes parasitizing humans in the adult stage.
A large collection of helminths is available for comparative studies...
