Host–parasite ‘Red Queen’ dynamics archived in pond sediment

Ellen Decaestecker (), Sabrina Gaba, Joost A. M. Raeymaekers, Robby Stoks, Liesbeth Van Kerckhoven, Dieter Ebert and Luc De Meester
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Ellen Decaestecker: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Sabrina Gaba: Universität Basel, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Vesalgasse 1, 4053 Basel, Switzerland
Joost A. M. Raeymaekers: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Robby Stoks: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Liesbeth Van Kerckhoven: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Dieter Ebert: Universität Basel, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Vesalgasse 1, 4053 Basel, Switzerland
Luc De Meester: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,

Nature, 2007, vol. 450, issue 7171, 870-873

Abstract: Host–parasite stalemate The Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass said that one had to run as fast as possible to stay in the same place. Leigh Van Valen applied the concept to host–parasite and predator–prey interactions, in which each participant evolves as fast as is necessary to outpace the other. But how can these so-called Red-Queen dynamics be tracked through time? By stirring around in the slime at the bottom of a pond, it turns out. The water flea Daphnia and one of its microbial parasites are both able to survive many years dormant in lake mud. In a study that compared revived dormant stages of host and parasite from the sediment beneath a pond in Heverlee, Belgium, with present-day descendants, there was steady increase in parasite virulence through time. But to little overall effect: infection rates between the hosts and their parasite contemporaries remained much the same: as in many an 'arms race', the result is a stalemate.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06291

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