ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2014
Aquatic polymers can drive pathogen transmission in coastal ecosystems.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Seroprevalence and Risk Analysis of Toxoplasma Gondii in Wild Birds of District Lahore Punjab, Pakistan.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Microplastics Facilitate Protozoan Pathogen Contamination in Shellfish.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Rapid loss of maternal immunity and increase in environmentally mediated antibody generation in urban gulls.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Association of zoonotic protozoan parasites with microplastics in seawater and implications for human and wildlife health.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Fatal toxoplasmosis in Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) from Penguin Island, Western Australia.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2022Article
- Human density is associated with the increased prevalence of a generalist zoonotic parasite in mammalian wildlife.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Sarcocystis neurona Transmission from Opossums to Marine Mammals in the Pacific Northwest.EcoHealth · 2021Article
- Article
- Microplastics in a dam lake in Turkey: type, mesh size effect, and bacterial biofilm communities.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
- Structure, composition, and roles of theCell surface (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2019Review
- Toxoplasma gondii in edible fishes captured in the Mediterranean basin.Zoonoses and public health · 2019Article
- Type X strains of Toxoplasma gondii are virulent for southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) and present in felids from nearby watersheds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Environmental transmission ofFood and waterborne parasitology · 2019Review
- The One Health Approach to Toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, Control, and Prevention Strategies.EcoHealth · 2019Review
- Toxoplasma gondii infection in wild mustelids and cats across an urban-rural gradient.PloS one · 2018Article
- Coastal development and precipitation drive pathogen flow from land to sea: evidence from a Toxoplasma gondii and felid host system.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Seagull Chicks Is Related to the Consumption of Freshwater Food Resources.PloS one · 2016Article
- Sea otter health: Challenging a pet hypothesis.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gelatinous polymers including extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) are fundamental to biophysical processes in aquatic habitats, including mediating aggregation processes and functioning as the matrix of biofilms. Yet insight into the impact of these sticky molecules on the environmental transmission of pathogens in the ocean is limited. We used the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii as a model to evaluate polymer-mediated mechanisms that promote transmission of terrestrially derived pathogens to marine fauna and humans. We show that transparent exopolymer particles, a particulate form of EPS, enhance T. gondii association with marine aggregates, material consumed by organisms otherwise unable to access micrometre-sized particles. Adhesion to EPS biofilms on macroalgae also captures T. gondii from the water, enabling uptake of pathogens by invertebrates that feed on kelp surfaces. We demonstrate the acquisition, concentration and retention of T. gondii by kelp-grazing snails, which can transmit T. gondii to threatened California sea otters. Results highlight novel mechanisms whereby aquatic polymers facilitate incorporation of pathogens into food webs via association with particle aggregates and biofilms. Identifying the critical role of invisible polymers in transmission of pathogens in the ocean represents a fundamental advance in understanding and mitigating the health impacts of coastal habitat pollution with contaminated runoff.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.