Research interests
I have been working with haemosporidian parasites since my MSc studies at Lund University, Lund, Sweden using molecular, phylogenetic and statistical analyses.
Since the start of my PhD, I have gained knowledge about the life cycle of avian haemosporidians. I participated in fieldwork and collection of material that I have been analysing. My project centre on the determination and description of the exo-erythrocytic stages of the Haemoproteus parasites in their naturally infected avian hosts. The obtained data as well as the museum collections (see internships) and available literature information will be used to unravel possible phylogenetic patterns in regard of the evolution of the parasites and the pathologies they cause in internal organs of their avian host.
Aside my PhD project, I have been involved as a junior researcher in two projects on Haemoproteus vectors, Culicoides biting midges in the P. B. Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology (P-MIP-21-76 and P-MIP-20-217). The first project centred on the identification of the vectors transmitting haemoproteids in diurnal vectors; the second project on investigating the mechanisms of transmission of avian haemoproteids – like the feeding preferences of these vectors. This work remarkably broadens my experience in Parasitology and is helpful for my PhD research to better understand haemosporidian parasite life cycles.
Annotation of the dissertation
Aim of the thesis: To investigate the tissue stages of haemoproteid parasites (Haemoproteus) and the pathologies they cause in naturally infected birds, with research on determination of possible phylogenetic patterns.
Objectives: to determine and describe the exo-erythrocytic stages of the following parasites in their naturally infected avian hosts:
– Haemoproteus majoris (genetic lineage hPHSIB1) in the wood wabler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix);
– Haemoproteus pastoris (hLMAPUR01) in the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris);
– Haemoproteus attenuatus (hROBIN1) in the European robin (Erithacus rubecula);
– Haemoproteus dumbbellus (hEMCIR01) in the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) and Haemoproteus hirundinis (hDELURB2) in the common house martin (Delichon urbicum);
The obtained data as well as the museum collections (see internships) and available literature information will be used to unravel possible phylogenetic patterns in regard of the evolution of the parasites and the pathologies they cause in internal organs of their avian host.
Workflow:
I have been working with haemosporidian parasites since my MSc studies at Lund University, Lund, Sweden using molecular, phylogenetic and statistical analyses.
Since the start of my PhD, I have gained knowledge about the life cycle of avian haemosporidians. During my first three years of PhD, the following main activities were conducted:
• participation in fieldwork and collection of material that I have been analysing;
• participation in six international conferences where I mainly presented my PhD work on haemosporidian parasites;
• two-months internship at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria on histological procedure and chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH);
• obtained a competitive international grant from SYNTEHSYS+ (European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the H2020 Integrating Activities Programme) for visits at the Natural History Museum (NHM, London, United Kingdom, GB-TAF-TA4-005) and at the Musée national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN, Paris, France, FR-TAF_Call4) to work on their haemoporidia collections.
• supervision of the final thesis of a bachelor student.
Aside my PhD project, I have been involved as a junior researcher in two projects on Haemoproteus vectors, Culicoides biting midges in the P. B. Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology (P-MIP-21-76 and P-MIP-20-217). The first project centred on the identification of the vectors transmitting haemoproteids in diurnal vectors; the second project on investigating the mechanisms of transmission of avian haemoproteids – like the feeding preferences of these vectors. This work remarkably broadens my experience in Parasitology and is helpful for my PhD research to better understand haemosporidian parasite life cycles.
My PhD project is multidisciplinary, and the research methodology combines the following approaches:
– microscopic examination of blood and histological preparations;
– DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis and sequence analysis;
– phylogenetic analysis;
– histology and cytology,
– chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH).
– dissection of birds and Haemoproteus vectors (Ceratopogonidae)
- 2023-01-08 – 2023-01-28. Musée national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France: under SYNTHESYS+ program (FR-TAF_Call4_062), access to the haemosporidians collection (Protists) with the application “Comparative research on exo-erythrocytic development of wildlife haemosporidian parasites”.
- 2022-11-20 – 2022-12-10. Natural History Museum (NHM), London, United Kingdom: under SYNTHESYS+ program (GB-TAF-TA4-005), access to the haemosporidians collection (Protists) with the application “Comparative research on exo-erythrocytic development of wildlife haemosporidian parasites”.
- 2021-10-11 – 2021-12-10. University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria: to train and learn the technic of chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH) for the study of haemosporidian parasites and to improve my skills in histological methods.
International scientific conferences:
- Duc M., Valkiūnas V. Oral presentation: Exo-erythrocytic stages of avian Parahaemoproteus (Haemosporida, Apicomplexa) protists: how we study their diversity. – Protistology-UK autumn meeting 2022. December 1st-2nd, 2022, Natural history Museum, London, United Kingdom.
- Duc M., Himmel T., Hernández-Lara C., Ilgūnas M., Weissenböck H., Valkiūnas G. Oral presentation: Data on neglected avian haemoproteosis: exo-erythrocytic development of Haemoproteus species in naturally infected birds. – 4thInternational Congress on Parasites of Wildlife (ICPOW), September 11-15, 2022, Kruger Park, South Africa.
- Duc M., Ilgūnas M., Weissenböck H., Valkiūnas G. Poster presentation: Meronts and megalomeronts in avian Parahaemoproteus species, which is which and where do they develop? – 5thInternational Conference on Malaria and Related Haemosporidian Parasites of Wildlife, September 05-09, 2022, Bielefeld, Germany.
- Duc M., Himmel T., Weissenböck H., Valkiūnas G. Oral presentation: New data on exo-erythrocytic development of neglected avian Haemoproteus blood parasites (Haemoproteidae, Apicomplexa) – 15thInternational Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA), August 21-26, 2022, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Duc M., Treinys R., Bernotienė R., Kazak M., Chagas C. R. F., Bukauskaitė D. Poster presentation: Identified vectors transmitting haemoproteid parasites of diurnal raptors – 15thInternational Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA), August 21-26, 2022, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Duc M., Ilgūnas M., Valkiūnas G. Formerly neglected avian haemoproteosis: megalomeronts of Haemoproteus majoris develop in different bird species over different seasons. – 9thConference of the Scandinavian – Baltic Society for Parasitology, April 21-23, 2021, online.
- Duc M., Ilgūnas M., Valkiūnas G. Patterns of Haemoproteus majoris (Haemosporida, Haemoproteidae) megalomeront development. – International Online Conference on Blood Parasites of Wildlife, September 14-15, 2020, online.