Hydra-Amoeba system: a double infection with a lethal ending

Abstract

Within each ecosystem, organisms and populations maintain a complex set of relationships. These interactions can determine the distribution area of a species and play an essential role in its evolution. Parasites are ubiquitous components of nature and have a high influence on various aspects of the biology and ecology of organisms, affecting the populations of their hosts and, therefore, their communities and ecosystems. Free-living amoebae are unicellular organisms that can be found in water, soil or air. Some species are of great importance in human health. In Hydra, there are several reports of Hydramoeba hydroxena infections. In this work we present a double parasitosis: two concatenated infectious periods in the host polyp of Hydra vulgaris and Hydra vulgaris pedunculata for three freshwater bodies in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Hydramoeba sp. and Acanthoamoeba sp. unchain a series of anatomical lesions that in all cases cause the death of the polyps due to total disintegration. This finding becomes important at a sanitary level due to the appearance of Acanthoamoeba sp. in waters associated with human recreational activities; For the Hydra genus, the importance lies at an ecological and evolutionary level, considering the possible impact on its natural populations.