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Veterinary Parasitology, Regional... Apr 2022Rural chicken production in Ghana is predominantly done under the extensive system that exposes birds to parasitic infections. We investigated the prevalence of...
Rural chicken production in Ghana is predominantly done under the extensive system that exposes birds to parasitic infections. We investigated the prevalence of Ascaridia spp. and Heterakis spp. and as a preliminary study characterized the genetic variance of the Ascaridia galli isolates from rural chicken in Kumbungu, Savelugu and Tolon Districts in the Northern Region, Ghana. A total of 86 chickens aged 6-10 weeks were dissected and GIT inspected for nematodes. Nematode were described based on morphological features to be A. galli and H. gallinarum. Additionally, the mitochondrial cox1 gene (475 bp) of Ascaridia isolates was amplified and sequenced. The overall prevalence of nematodes was 47.67%: A. galli 37.21% and H. gallinarum 20.93%. Prevalence values of A. galli in the Kumbungu, Savelugu and Tolon Districts were 25.00%, 36.00%, 56.00%, respectively, and that of H. gallinarum, respectively were 16.67%, 28.00% and 20.00%. A Chi-square test (x = 6.0907, p < 0.048) showed an association of A. galli prevalence to the district of origin of birds. From 20 A. galli cox1 sequences analyzed, all sequences were identified as A. galli. Two haplotypes were recorded, namely, GHA1 and GHA2. Haplotype GHA1 was found to have wide distribution globally, whereas GHA2 appear to be novel in the present study. The data shows the importance of A. galli and H. gallinarum infection in rural chicken in northern Ghana and pave way for further epidemiological study of avian nematodes.
Topics: Animals; Ascaridia; Ascaridida; Chickens; Ghana; Nematoda; Poultry Diseases; Prevalence
PubMed: 35256120
DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2022.100692 -
Integrative and Comparative Biology Oct 2017Food resources can affect the health of organisms by altering their symbiotic microbiota and affecting energy reserves for host defenses against parasites. Different...
Food resources can affect the health of organisms by altering their symbiotic microbiota and affecting energy reserves for host defenses against parasites. Different diets can vary in their macronutrient content and therefore they might favor certain bacterial communities of the host and affect the development and maintenance of the immune system, such as the inflammatory or antibody responses. Thus, testing the effect of diet, especially for animals with wide diet breadths, on host-associated microbiota and defenses against parasites might be important in determining infection and disease risk. Here, we test whether the early-life diet of Cuban tree frogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) affects early- and later-life microbiota as well as later-life defenses against skin-penetrating, gut worms (Aplectana hamatospicula). We fed tadpoles two ecologically common diets: a diet of conspecifics or a diet of algae (Arthrospira sp.). We then: (1) characterized the gut microbiota of tadpoles and adults; and (2) challenged adult frogs with parasitic worms and measured host resistance (including the antibody-mediated immune response) and tolerance of infections. Tadpole diet affected bacterial communities in the guts of tadpoles but did not have enduring effects on the bacterial communities of adults. In contrast, tadpole diet had enduring effects on host resistance and tolerance of infections in adult frogs. Frogs that were fed a conspecific-based diet as tadpoles were more resistant to worm penetration compared with frogs that were fed an alga-based diet as tadpoles, but less resistant to worm establishment, which may be related to their suppressed antibody response during worm establishment. Furthermore, frogs that were fed a conspecific-based diet as tadpoles were more tolerant to the effect of parasite abundance on host mass during worm establishment. Overall, our study demonstrates that the diet of Cuban tree frog tadpoles affects the gut microbiota and defenses against parasitic gut worms of frogs, but these effects depend on the stage of the host and infection, respectively.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Ascaridida; Ascaridida Infections; Diet; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Host-Parasite Interactions; Immunity, Innate; Larva
PubMed: 28662573
DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx028 -
Laeknabladid Feb 2022During 2004-2020 in total 18 anisakid larvae (Nematoda) were sent in to the Laboratory of Parasitology at Keldur for investigation and species identification. Fourteen...
During 2004-2020 in total 18 anisakid larvae (Nematoda) were sent in to the Laboratory of Parasitology at Keldur for investigation and species identification. Fourteen had temporarily lived within the human body and were alive when detected, three were noticed alive in food just before being consumed, one larva was found dead. Pseudoterranova decipiens was found í 16 instances (89%), Anisakis simplex in two (11%). The one Anisakis case was a wriggling larva detected in the diaper of a baby that was believed to have ingested the larva with undercooked fish three days earlier in the kindergarten. In the other case a dead larva was found entangled in fish chew, spit out by a baby being fed with boiled haddock. Pseudoterranova larvae in humans (n=13) were most frequently detected in the mouth (11 persons). In one instance winding movements of larva in vomit of a baby attracted the attention of the mother, in another case a person detected tickling movements of a larva when cleaning the anal area after defecation. Length of the 13 Pseudoterranova larvae varied between 30 and 47 mm. They were believed to have lived in their hosts from one up to nine days. Nine larvae had already developed to the L4, stage, four were still in the L3 stage. Cod was the most frequently mentioned source of infection (5 of 14 cases), two persons regarded catfish to be the culprit, one named both fish species. In one case either sushi or plaice was believed to be the infection source, one person presumably got the larva participating in a sushi feast. In four cases the fish source remained unknown. Most often the larva was consumed in private homes, three persons believed to have gotten the larva when dining in a restaurant, a harbour worker got the worm when eating raw fish and the same baby got a larva on two different occasions in the kindergarten.
Topics: Animals; Anisakiasis; Anisakis; Ascaridoidea; Humans; Iceland; Larva
PubMed: 35103620
DOI: 10.17992/lbl.2022.01.676 -
Parasites & Vectors Aug 2023The family Toxocaridae is a group of zooparasitic nematodes of veterinary, medical and economic significance. However, the evolutionary relationship of Porrocaecum and...
Mitogenomic phylogenies suggest the resurrection of the subfamily Porrocaecinae and provide insights into the systematics of the superfamily Ascaridoidea (Nematoda: Ascaridomorpha), with the description of a new species of Porrocaecum.
BACKGROUND
The family Toxocaridae is a group of zooparasitic nematodes of veterinary, medical and economic significance. However, the evolutionary relationship of Porrocaecum and Toxocara, both genera currently classified in Toxocaridae, and the monophyly of the Toxocaridae remain under debate. Moreover, the validity of the subgenus Laymanicaecum in the genus Porrocaecum is open to question. Due to the scarcity of an available genetic database, molecular identification of Porrocaecum nematodes is still in its infancy.
METHODS
A number of Porrocaecum nematodes collected from the Eurasian marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus) (Falconiformes: Accipitridae) in the Czech Republic were identified using integrated morphological methods (light and scanning electron microscopy) and molecular techniques (sequencing and analyzing the nuclear 18S, 28S and ITS regions). The complete mitochondrial genomes of the collected nematode specimens and of Porrocaecum (Laymanicaecum) reticulatum (Linstow, 1899) were sequenced and annotated for the first time. Phylogenetic analyses of ascaridoid nematodes based on the amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes of mitochondrial genomes were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.
RESULTS
A new species of Porrocaecum, named P. moraveci n. sp., is described based on the morphological and genetic evidence. The mitogenomes of P. moraveci n. sp. and P. reticulatum both contain 36 genes and are 14,517 and 14,210 bp in length, respectively. Comparative mitogenomics revealed that P. moraveci n. sp. represents the first known species with three non-coding regions and that P. reticulatum has the lowest overall A + T content in the mitogenomes of ascaridoid nematodes tested to date. Phylogenetic analyses showed the representatives of Toxocara clustered together with species of the family Ascarididae rather than with Porrocaecum and that P. moraveci n. sp. is a sister to P. reticulatum.
CONCLUSIONS
The characterization of the complete mitochondrial genomes of P. moraveci n. sp. and P. reticulatum is reported for the first time. Mitogenomic phylogeny analyses indicated that the family Toxocaridae is non-monophyletic and that the genera Porrocaecum and Toxocara do not have an affinity. The validity of the subgenus Laymanicaecum in Porrocaecum was also rejected. Our results suggest that: (i) Toxocaridae should be degraded to a subfamily of the Ascarididae that includes only the genus Toxocara; and (ii) the subfamily Porrocaecinae should be resurrected to include only the genus Porrocaecum. The present study enriches the database of ascaridoid mitogenomes and provides a new insight into the systematics of the superfamily Ascaridoidea.
Topics: Animals; Phylogeny; Bayes Theorem; Ascaridoidea; Biological Evolution; Toxocara; Genome, Mitochondrial; Birds
PubMed: 37563590
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05889-9 -
Journal of Helminthology Mar 2019Ascaris sp. is a soil-transmitted helminth (STH) significantly affecting the health of human and swine populations. Health inequities and poverty, with resulting...
Ascaris sp. is a soil-transmitted helminth (STH) significantly affecting the health of human and swine populations. Health inequities and poverty, with resulting deficiencies in water, sanitation and hygiene, are directly associated with Ascaris lumbricoides prevalence in humans. Resource constraints also lead to small-scale livestock production under unsanitary conditions. Free-ranging pigs, for instance, are exposed to a number of infectious agents, among which Ascaris suum is one of the most common. Under these conditions, close proximity between people and pigs can result in cross-contamination; that is, pigs harbouring human Ascaris and vice versa. Moreover, the potential interbreeding between these two Ascaris species has been demonstrated. The present study analysed Ascaris worms obtained from children and pigs in Honduras. Adult worms were collected from stool samples of children after pharmacological treatment, and from pigs' intestines after slaughter for commercial purposes at a local abattoir. A nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and digested with a restriction enzyme in order to separate putative human- and pig-derived Ascaris isolates. PCR products were also sequenced, and cladograms were constructed. All parasites isolated from children showed the typical human-derived genotype of Ascaris, whereas 91% of parasites from pigs showed the expected pig-derived genotype. Cross-infections between hosts were not demonstrated in this study. Nine per cent of pig-derived worms showed a restriction band pattern highly suggestive of a hybrid human-pig Ascaris genotype. These results contribute to the understanding of ascariasis epidemiology and its zoonotic potential in a highly endemic region.
Topics: Animals; Ascariasis; Ascaris; Ascaris lumbricoides; Ascaris suum; Child; DNA, Helminth; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; Feces; Genotype; Honduras; Humans; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Swine; Swine Diseases; Zoonoses
PubMed: 29502555
DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X18000160 -
Parasitology Research Jul 2016Strongyluris calotis is a heterakid nematode in the large intestine of agamid lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae) from the Oriental Region. The standard light...
Strongyluris calotis is a heterakid nematode in the large intestine of agamid lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae) from the Oriental Region. The standard light microscopic definition of the species counts the "caudal papillae" as 10 pairs on male worms. However, previous work from our group using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on the heterakid from agamid lizards in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore revealed that this counting contained a pair of phasmids and that two pairs of postcloacal papillae were completely fused to form a pair of united papillae, thus resulting in "10 pairs." In the present study, we examined S. calotis specimens from the Emma Gray's forest lizard, Calotes emma (Agamidae), living in the plain forest at low altitude, and the Vietnam false bloodsucker, Pseudocalotes brevipes (Agamidae), living in the mountainous forest at high altitude in the northern part of Vietnam. Using SEM, the arrangement of caudal papillae in male worms from an Emma Gray's forest lizard was found to be comparable to classical S. calotis specimens from agamid lizards collected in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. However, male worms from Vietnam false bloodsuckers did not have a pair of united papillae but had 10 pairs of independent caudal papillae with a pair of phasmids. Molecular genetic analyses of the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) of worms of the classical S. calotis morphotype from Japan and Singapore and two S. calotis morphotypes from Vietnam demonstrated absolutely identical nucleotide sequences of partial 18S rDNA (at least 1764 base pairs (bp)) and 5.8S rDNA (158 bp). However, intraspecific differences were detected in other regions of the rDNA, related to the geographical distribution of hosts regardless of morphotype: 97.8-98.5 % identity (443-446 bp/453 bp) in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 region, 96.6-98.0 % identity (425-431 bp/440 bp) in the ITS-2 region, and 99.6-99.7 % identity (1149-1151 bp/1154 bp) in the 28S rDNA. Thus, in the future, taxonomic relationships of S. calotis distributed widely in the Oriental Region as well as other nominal Oriental Strongyluris spp., currently six in number, need to be extensively explored based on molecular genetic analyses in addition to intensive morphological characterization.
Topics: Animals; Ascaridida; Base Sequence; DNA, Ribosomal; Female; Genetic Variation; Intestine, Large; Lizards; Male; Vietnam
PubMed: 27041339
DOI: 10.1007/s00436-016-5030-5 -
Parasitology Research Dec 2014The equine ascarid parasite Parascaris equorum is well known as a ubiquitous parasite infecting foals. A sibling species, Parascaris univalens, was first described over...
The equine ascarid parasite Parascaris equorum is well known as a ubiquitous parasite infecting foals. A sibling species, Parascaris univalens, was first described over 130 years ago, but very little attention has been given to its existence and possible implications for anthelmintic resistance, clinical disease, or host age spectrum. P. univalens only possesses one germ line chromosome pair as opposed to two for P. equorum, but the two species are otherwise considered morphologically identical. For the present study, live worms obtained from the University of Kentucky parasitology horse herd were dissected and identified using karyotyping techniques. With no exception, all specimens (n = 30) were identified to be P. univalens. Further, the karyotyping technique was adapted to ascarid eggs derived from fecal samples and carried out on samples collected from 25 Thoroughbred foals from three farms in Central Kentucky. P. equorum was not identified among these, whereas P. univalens was found in 17 samples, with the remaining being inconclusive. The mitochondrial genome was sequenced, assembled, and annotated from one male worm identified as P. univalens, and comparison with available sequence reads labeled as P. equorum revealed only 0.16% nucleotide differences. However, it is unlikely that the sequences available in public databases have been unequivocally identified to species level by karyotyping. Taken together, these data suggest that P. univalens is likely the main species now observed in equines and that perhaps the designation Parascaris spp. should be used unless cytological characterization has confirmed the species.
Topics: Animals; Ascaridida Infections; Ascaridoidea; Feces; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Genome, Mitochondrial; Helminth Proteins; Horse Diseases; Horses; Karyotyping; Kentucky; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Reference Values
PubMed: 25231078
DOI: 10.1007/s00436-014-4135-y -
Parasitology International Jun 2020Consumption of raw or inadequately processed marine fish may result in anisakidosis - a zoonotic disease caused by larvae of the parasitic nematodes of the family...
Consumption of raw or inadequately processed marine fish may result in anisakidosis - a zoonotic disease caused by larvae of the parasitic nematodes of the family Anisakidae (anisakiasis when caused by members of the genus Anisakis (Nematoda: Anisakidae)), commonly found in a variety of marine fish species all over the world. Most cases of anisakidosis have been detected in the residents of Japan and South Korea, which results from the tradition of eating raw and semi-raw fish dishes. However, the disease is now increasingly often diagnosed in other parts of the world, including Europe (mainly in Spain and Italy). In Poland, no cases of human infection with anisakid nematodes have been detected so far. In this study, we report the first case of gastric anisakiasis in Poland, in a 59-year-old female patient, after eating raw Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The parasite was identified as the third-stage larva of Anisakis simplex sensu stricto on the basis of morphology and molecular analysis. The larva was still alive and causing pain until it was removed, which occurred more than 5 weeks after infection. The described case prove that anisakiasis should be considered as a potential cause of gastrointestinal tract ailments following the consumption of seafood in countries where no cases of this zoonosis have been reported to date.
Topics: Animals; Anisakiasis; Anisakis; Female; Food Parasitology; Humans; Larva; Middle Aged; Poland; Salmo salar; Seafood
PubMed: 32044432
DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2020.102073 -
Mitochondrial DNA. Part A, DNA Mapping,... Jan 2018Toxocara cati (cat roundworm) is a common parasitic nematode that infects humans and other hosts, causing toxocariasis. Although its significance as a pathogen, the...
Toxocara cati (cat roundworm) is a common parasitic nematode that infects humans and other hosts, causing toxocariasis. Although its significance as a pathogen, the epidemiology, genetics and biology of T. cati remain poorly understand in China. In the present study, genetic variation in mitochondrial (mt) cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rDNA region among T. cati in Guangdong province, subtropical China was examined. A portion of the cox1 (pcox1) and the complete ITS (ITS1 + 5.8S rDNA + ITS2) were amplified separately from individual worms by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplicons were then subjected to sequencing from both directions. The length of the sequences of pcox1, ITS-1, and ITS-2 were 308 bp, 462 bp, and 335 bp, respectively. The intra-specific sequence variations within T. cati were 0-3.6% for pcox1, 0-2.4% for ITS-1, and 0-2.7% for ITS-2. However, the inter-specific sequence differences were significantly higher, being 8.6%, 10.7%, and 11.3% for pcox1, ITS-1, and ITS-2, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses based on the pcox1 sequences indicated that all the isolates in Guangdong province were in genus Toxocara, which confirmed that these parasites represent T. cati. The molecular approach employed provides a powerful tool for elucidating the epidemiology, genetics, and biology of zoonotic T. cati in China and elsewhere.
Topics: Animals; China; DNA, Helminth; DNA, Mitochondrial; Electron Transport Complex IV; Genes, Mitochondrial; Genetic Variation; Phylogeny; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Toxocara
PubMed: 28141958
DOI: 10.1080/24701394.2016.1258404 -
Veterinary Parasitology Oct 2021The poultry pathogen Histomonas meleagridis is transmitted by chicken cecal worms (Heterakis gallinarum) and is potentially transmitted by second order insect vectors...
The poultry pathogen Histomonas meleagridis is transmitted by chicken cecal worms (Heterakis gallinarum) and is potentially transmitted by second order insect vectors and paratenic hosts. Darkling beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) are poultry farm pests that infest barns. An outstanding question is the degree to which darkling beetles transmit both Heterakis and Histomonas. In this study we monitored populations of darkling beetles and assessed their positivity for both Heterakis and Histomonas by PCR. Uniquely, this study was conducted during the scheduled deconstruction of Auburn University's Poultry Research Farm. Therefore, we were able to monitor beetle and litter infection status months and years after bird depopulation. The duration of our monitoring continued through three seasons. We show that environmental DNA from both Heterakis and Histomonas persist in the environment long after prior infections, even in the absence of living Heterakis and its hosts. Finally, in an intensive search for live Heterakis, we discovered reniform nematodes (plant parasitic nematodes) residing in the soil floor of poultry farms.
Topics: Animals; Ascaridida; Chickens; DNA; Housing, Animal; Poultry Diseases; Trichomonadida
PubMed: 34365105
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2021.109536