@article {96208, title = {There and back again: switching between host orders by avian body lice (Ischnocera: Goniodidae)}, journal = {Biological Journal of the Linnean Society}, volume = {102}, year = {2011}, month = {March-2011}, pages = {614-625}, abstract = {

Studies of major switches by parasites between highly divergent host lineages are important for understanding new opportunities for parasite diversification. One such major host switch is inferred for avian feather lice (Ischnocera) in the family Goniodidae, which parasitize two distantly-related groups of birds: Galliformes (pheasants, quail, partridges, etc.) and Columbiformes (pigeons and doves). Although there have been several cophylogenetic studies of lice at the species level, few studies have focused on such broad evolutionary patterns and major host-switching events. Using a phylogeny based on DNA sequences for goniodid feather lice, we investigated the direction of this major host switch. Unexpectedly, we found that goniodid feather lice have switched host orders, not just once, but twice. A primary host switch occurred from Galliformes to Columbiformes, leading to a large radiation of columbiform body lice. Subsequently, there was also a host switch from Columbiformes back to Galliformes, specifically to megapodes in the Papua\–Australasian region. The results of the present study further reveal that, although morphologically diagnosable lineages are supported by molecular data, many of the existing genera are not monophyletic and a revision of generic limits is needed

}, keywords = {coevolution, Columbiformes, ectoparasites, Galliformes, host-switching, phylogeny.}, issn = {0024-4066}, doi = {10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01612.x}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/102/3/614/2450708}, author = {Kevin P. Johnson and Jason D. Weckstein and Meyer,Mathys J. and Clayton,Dale H.} } @article {94871, title = {Extensive host-switching of avian feather lice following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event}, journal = {Communications Biology}, volume = {2}, year = {2019}, month = {11-2019}, pages = {6 pp}, type = {Open Access}, abstract = {

Nearly all lineages of birds host parasitic feather lice. Based on recent phylogenomic studies, the three major lineages of modern birds diverged from each other before the Cretaceous- Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event. In contrast, studies of the phylogeny of feather lice on birds, indicate that these parasites diversified largely after this event. However, these studies were unable to reconstruct the ancestral avian host lineage for feather lice. Here we use genome sequences of a broad diversity of lice to reconstruct a phylogeny based on 1,075 genes. By comparing this louse evolutionary tree to the avian host tree, we show that feather lice began diversifying on the common ancestor of waterfowl and landfowl, then radiated onto other avian lineages by extensive host-switching. Dating analyses and cophylogenetic comparisons revealed that two of three lineages of birds that diverged before the K-Pg boundary acquired their feather lice after this event via host-switching.

Data availability

Data generated during this study are available through the Illinois Databank (https://doi.org/10.13012/B2IDB-0440388_V1)39. Raw read sequences are available in the NCBI SRA database (Supplementary Table 3).

}, keywords = {Feather lice, Galloanserae, Neoaves, Palaeognathae}, doi = {10.1038/s42003-019-0689-7}, url = {http://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0689-7}, author = {Robert S. de_Moya and Julie M. Allen and Andrew D. Sweet and Kimberly K. O. Walden and Ricardo L. Palma and Vincent Stuart Smith and Stephen L. Cameron and Michel Paiva Valim and Terry D. Galloway and Jason D. Weckstein and Kevin P. Johnson} }