Parasites do not adapt to elevated temperature, as evidenced from experimental evolution of a phytoplankton–fungus system

Global warming is predicted to impact the prevalence and severity of infectious diseases. However, empirical data supporting this statement usually stem from experiments in which parasite fitness and disease outcome are measured directly after temperature increase. This might exclude the possibility of parasite adaptation. To incorporate the adaptive response of parasites into predictions of disease severity in a warmer world, we undertook an experimental evolution assay in which a fungal parasite of phytoplankton was maintained at elevated or control temperatures for six months, corresponding to 100–200 parasite generations. Host cultures were maintained at the respective temperatures and provided as substrate, but were not under parasite pressure. A reciprocal infection experiment conducted after six-month serial passages revealed no evidence of parasite adaptation. In fact, parasite fitness at elevated temperatures was inferior in parasite populations reared at elevated temperatures compared with those maintained under control temperature. However, this effect was reversed after parasites were returned to control temperatures for a few (approx. 10) generations. The absence of parasite adaptation to elevated temperatures suggests that, in phytoplankton–fungus systems, disease outcome under global warming will be largely determined by both host and parasite thermal ecology.