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Journal of Clinical Microbiology Oct 2021Acanthocephala is a phylum of parasitic pseudocoelomates that infect a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts and can cause zoonotic infections in humans. The... (Review)
Review
Acanthocephala is a phylum of parasitic pseudocoelomates that infect a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts and can cause zoonotic infections in humans. The zoologic literature is quite rich and diverse; however, the human-centric literature is sparse, with sporadic reports over the past 70 years. Causal agents of acanthocephaliasis in humans are reviewed as well as their biology and life cycle. This review provides the first consolidated and summarized report of human cases of acanthocephaliasis based on English language publications, including epidemiology, clinical presentation, treatment, and diagnosis and identification.
Topics: Acanthocephala; Animals; Helminthiasis; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Parasites
PubMed: 34076470
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.02691-20 -
Parasitology Apr 2021Identifying the factors that structure host–parasite interactions is fundamental to understand the drivers of species distributions and to predict novel cross-species...
Identifying the factors that structure host–parasite interactions is fundamental to understand the drivers of species distributions and to predict novel cross-species transmission events. More phylogenetically related host species tend to have more similar parasite associations, but parasite specificity may vary as a function of transmission mode, parasite taxonomy or life history. Accordingly, analyses that attempt to infer host−parasite associations using combined data on different parasite groups may perform quite differently relative to analyses on each parasite subset. In essence, are more data always better when predicting host−parasite associations, or does parasite taxonomic resolution matter? Here, we explore how taxonomic resolution affects predictive models of host−parasite associations using the London Natural History Museum's database of host–helminth interactions. Using boosted regression trees, we demonstrate that taxon-specific models (i.e. of Acanthocephalans, Nematodes and Platyhelminthes) consistently outperform full models in predicting mammal-helminth associations. At finer spatial resolutions, full and taxon-specific model performance does not vary, suggesting tradeoffs between phylogenetic and spatial scales of analysis. Although all models identify similar host and parasite covariates as important to such patterns, our results emphasize the importance of phylogenetic scale in the study of host–parasite interactions and suggest that using taxonomic subsets of data may improve predictions of parasite distributions and cross-species transmission. Predictive models of host–pathogen interactions should thus attempt to encompass the spatial resolution and phylogenetic scale desired for inference and prediction and potentially use model averaging or ensemble models to combine predictions from separately trained models.
Topics: Acanthocephala; Animals; Host-Parasite Interactions; Mammals; Models, Biological; Nematoda; Phylogeny; Platyhelminths; Spatial Analysis
PubMed: 33342442
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182020002371 -
Parasitology Dec 2022Most individual fish in wild and farmed populations can be infected with parasites. Fish intestines can harbour protozoans, myxozoans and helminths, which include... (Review)
Review
Most individual fish in wild and farmed populations can be infected with parasites. Fish intestines can harbour protozoans, myxozoans and helminths, which include several species of digeneans, cestodes, nematodes and acanthocephalans. Enteric parasites often induce inflammation of the intestine; the pathogen provokes changes in the host physiology, which will be genetically selected for if they benefit the parasite. The host response to intestinal parasites involves neural, endocrine and immune systems and interaction among these systems is coordinated by hormones, chemokines, cytokines and neurotransmitters including peptides. Intestinal fish parasites have effects on the components of the enteric nervous and endocrine systems; mechanical/chemical changes impair the activity of these systems, including gut motility and digestion. Investigations on the role of the neuroendocrine system in response to fish intestinal parasites are very few. This paper provides immunohistochemical and ultrastructural data on effects of parasites on the enteric nervous system and the enteric endocrine system in several fish–parasite systems. Emphasis is on the occurrence of 21 molecules including cholecystokinin-8, neuropeptide Y, enkephalins, galanin, vasoactive intestinal peptide and serotonin in infected tissues.
Topics: Animals; Parasites; Fish Diseases; Acanthocephala; Fishes; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Neurosecretory Systems
PubMed: 36076315
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182022001160 -
Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia... 2022We performed coproparasitological testing of free-living golden-headed lion tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, using the Hoffmann-Pons-Janner method. In total, we...
We performed coproparasitological testing of free-living golden-headed lion tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, using the Hoffmann-Pons-Janner method. In total, we collected 118 samples from ten groups: four living in Federal Protected Area and six living in Non-Protected Areas of cocoa farms. Eggs from parasites of the Acanthocephala phylum and Spiruridae, Ancylostomatidae, Ascarididae and Oxyuridae families were identified, as well as the genus Strongyloides (Nematode: Strongyloididae) and phylum Apicomplexa. This is the first description of infection with coccidian, Trichuridae family and Strongyloides spp. in L. chrysomelas. A total of 48% (n= 57) of the animals were infected and the highest prevalence (37.2±SD 8.72, n = 44) was for Acanthocephalidae, followed by Spiruridae (8.5±SD 5.03, n = 10). There was no difference in parasite prevalence by age classes or sex. However, we found higher diversity and prevalence of parasites in animals living in the Federal Protected Area. These results suggest that intestinal parasites may be influenced by environmental factors, such as the management of the areas where the animals live, in addition to the feeding behavior of L. chrysomelas and distinct transmission strategies of parasites. The combination of ecological and demographic data combined with parasitological studies may contribute to conservation programs for this species.
Topics: Animals; Brazil; Forests; Leontopithecus; Monkey Diseases; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases, Animal
PubMed: 35195183
DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612022005 -
International Journal For Parasitology.... Apr 2018Harbour seals () and grey seals () are final hosts of acanthocephalans in the German North and Baltic Seas. Parasitic infections in seals can cause pathological changes,...
Harbour seals () and grey seals () are final hosts of acanthocephalans in the German North and Baltic Seas. Parasitic infections in seals can cause pathological changes, which may result in deteriorated health of the host. Common gastrointestinal parasites of harbour and grey seals are acanthocephalans and a number of 275 of 2460 (11.2%) investigated seals from 1996 to 2013 were infected with spp. (Acanthocephala, Polymorphidae). The prevalence showed a wave-like pattern: it increased from 1.2% and 0.4% in 1996 and 1997, respectively, to 23.9% during the second phocine distemper epizootic in 2002 and decreased to 6.2% in 2004. In 2005, prevalence peaked again with 25.0% followed by a decrease to 9.3% in 2009 and an increase to 38.5% in 2012. Statistical analysis revealed that harbour seals originating from the North Sea showed a higher prevalence than grey seals, whereas no significant difference between grey and harbour seals from the Baltic Sea was observed. Furthermore, juvenile pinnipedia from the North Sea were significantly less infected with spp. than seals older than seven month. Molecular species identification as well as phylogenetic relationship analysis among the detected species were achieved by sequencing and comparisons of the ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-complex and cytochrome-c-oxidase I gene. Molecular analysis resulted in a newly arranged distribution of Acanthocephala in the North Sea as in contrast to previous studies, could not be confirmed as predominant species. Instead, and a isolate (isolate Pv1NS) with an atypical number of longitudinal rows of hooks at the proboscis were detected. Furthermore, morphological and molecular analyses indicate the possible finding of a cryptic species (Candidatus sp. nov.).
PubMed: 29387535
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.01.002 -
Parasite (Paris, France) 2022With a long coastline stretching from tropical to subtropical climate zones, and an immense exclusive economic zone with over 4000 islands, the Vietnamese marine waters... (Review)
Review
With a long coastline stretching from tropical to subtropical climate zones, and an immense exclusive economic zone with over 4000 islands, the Vietnamese marine waters support a rich and biodiverse parasite fauna. Although the first parasitological record was in 1898, systematic studies of the parasite fauna have increased during the last 50 years. This comprehensive review covers the current state of knowledge of marine fish parasites in Vietnam and lists 498 species found in 225 fish species, and their geographical distribution. In addition, 251 marine parasite species have newly been added to the already known fauna of 247 species since 2006 (more than two-fold increase). The most speciose group was the Digenea, which accounted for 43% of the total parasite species biodiversity, followed by Monogenea (23.5%), Crustacea (11.6%), Nematoda, and Acanthocephala (8.0% each). The shallow and muddy Gulf of Tonkin showed a rich parasite fauna, accounting for 66.3% of the whole marine parasite fauna of Vietnam, with Digenea accounting for 51% of the regional total parasite richness, followed by Monogenea (27%), Acanthocephala (8.8%), and Nematoda (5.8%). Only a few species belonged to Hirudinea, Myxozoa, and Cestoda, suggesting that these taxa may be understudied. Despite significant progress in studies of marine fish parasites in Vietnam since 2006, only about 12% and 13% of the total fish species have been examined for parasites in the whole country and the Gulf of Tonkin, respectively.
Topics: Acanthocephala; Animals; Fish Diseases; Fishes; Nematoda; Parasites; Trematoda; Vietnam
PubMed: 35833786
DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2022033 -
Diseases of Aquatic Organisms Oct 2019Amphipods are commonly used test organisms in ecotoxicological studies. Nevertheless, their naturally occurring parasites have mostly been neglected in these... (Review)
Review
Amphipods are commonly used test organisms in ecotoxicological studies. Nevertheless, their naturally occurring parasites have mostly been neglected in these investigations, even though several groups of parasites can have a multitude of effects, e.g. on host survival, physiology, or behavior. In the present review, we summarize the knowledge on the effects of Microsporidia and Acanthocephala, 2 common and abundant groups of parasites in amphipods, on the outcome of ecotoxicological studies. Parasites can have significant effects on toxicological endpoints (e.g. mortality, biochemical markers) that are unexpected in some cases (e.g. down-regulation of heat shock protein 70 response in infected individuals). Therefore, parasites can bias the interpretation of results, for example if populations with different parasite profiles are compared, or if toxicological effects are masked by parasite effects. With the present review, we would like to encourage ecotoxicologists to consider parasites as an additional factor if field-collected test organisms are analyzed for biomarkers. Additionally, we suggest intensification of research activities on the effects of parasites in amphipods in connection with other stressors to disentangle parasite and pollution effects and to improve our understanding of parasite effects in this host taxon.
Topics: Acanthocephala; Amphipoda; Animals; Host-Parasite Interactions; Microsporidia; Parasites
PubMed: 31575839
DOI: 10.3354/dao03355 -
Acta Parasitologica Mar 2022Studies of parasite communities and patterns in the Antarctic are an important knowledge base with the potential to track shifts in ecological relations and study the...
BACKGROUND
Studies of parasite communities and patterns in the Antarctic are an important knowledge base with the potential to track shifts in ecological relations and study the effects of climate change on host-parasite systems. Endemic Nototheniinae is the dominant fish group found in Antarctic marine habitats. Through their intermediate position within the food web, Nototheniinae link lower to higher trophic levels and thereby also form an important component of parasite life cycles. The study was set out to gain insight into the parasite fauna of Nototheniops larseni, N. nudifrons and Lepidonotothen squamifrons (Nototheniinae) from Elephant Island (Antarctica).
METHODS
Sampling was conducted at three locations around Elephant Island during the ANT-XXVIII/4 expedition of the research vessel Polarstern. The parasite fauna of three Nototheniine species was analysed, and findings were compared to previous parasitological and ecological research collated from a literature review.
RESULTS
All host species shared the parasites Neolebouria antarctica (Digenea), Corynosoma bullosum (Acanthocephala) and Pseudoterranova decipiens E (Nematoda). Other parasite taxa were exclusive to one host species in this study. Nototheniops nudifrons was infected by Ascarophis nototheniae (Nematoda), occasional infections of N. larseni with Echinorhynchus petrotschenkoi (Acanthocephala) and L. squamifrons with Elytrophalloides oatesi (Digenea) and larval tetraphyllidean Cestoda were detected.
CONCLUSION
All examined fish species' parasites were predominantly euryxenous regarding their fish hosts. The infection of Lepidonotothen squamifrons with Lepidapedon garrardi (Digenea) and Nototheniops larseni with Echinorhynchus petrotschenkoi represent new host records. Despite the challenges and limited opportunities for fishing in remote areas, future studies should continue sampling on a more regular basis and include a larger number of fish species and sampling sites within different habitats.
Topics: Animals; Antarctic Regions; Ascaridoidea; Fish Diseases; Host-Parasite Interactions; Parasites; Perciformes; Trematoda
PubMed: 34275092
DOI: 10.1007/s11686-021-00455-8 -
BMC Ecology and Evolution Jun 202118S rRNA is a major component of the small subunit of the eukaryotic ribosome and an important phylogenetic marker for many groups, often to the point of being the only...
BACKGROUND
18S rRNA is a major component of the small subunit of the eukaryotic ribosome and an important phylogenetic marker for many groups, often to the point of being the only marker available for some. A core structure across eukaryotes exists for this molecule that can help to inform about its evolution in different groups. Using an alignment of 18S rDNA for Rotifera as traditionally recognized (=Bdelloidea, Monogononta, and Seisonacea, but not Acanthocephala), I fitted sequences for three exemplar species (Adineta vaga, Brachionus plicatilis, and Seison nebaliae, respectively) to the core structure and used these maps to reveal patterns of evolution for the remainder of this diverse group of microscopic animals.
RESULTS
The obtained variability maps of the 18S rRNA molecule revealed a pattern of high diversity among the three major rotifer clades coupled with strong conservation within each of bdelloids and monogononts. A majority of individual sites (ca. 60%) were constant even across rotifers as a whole with variable sites showing only intermediate rates of evolution. Although the three structural maps each showed good agreement with the inferred core structure for eukaryotic 18S rRNA and so were highly similar to one another at the secondary and tertiary levels, the overall pattern is of three highly distinct, but conserved motifs within the group at the primary sequence level. A novel finding was that of a variably expressed deletion at the 3' end of the V3 hypervariable region among some bdelloid species that occasionally extended into and included the pseudoknot structure following this region as well as the central "square" of the 18S rRNA molecule. Compared to other groups, levels of variation and rates of evolution for 18S rRNA in Rotifera roughly matched those for Gastropoda and Acanthocephala, despite increasing evidence for the latter being a clade within Rotifera.
CONCLUSIONS
The lack of comparative data for comparable groups makes interpretation of the results (i.e., very low variation within each of the three major rotifer clades, but high variation between them) and their potential novelty difficult. However, these findings in combination with the high morphological diversity within rotifers potentially help to explain why no clear consensus has been reached to date with regard to the phylogenetic relationships among the major groups.
Topics: Acanthocephala; Animals; Evolution, Molecular; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; Rotifera
PubMed: 34112085
DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01845-2 -
Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia... 2020This study evaluated the parasitic fauna of hybrids tambacu (Colossoma macropomum × Piaractus mesopotamicus) and patinga (P. mesopotamicus × Piaractus brachypomus) and...
This study evaluated the parasitic fauna of hybrids tambacu (Colossoma macropomum × Piaractus mesopotamicus) and patinga (P. mesopotamicus × Piaractus brachypomus) and their host-parasite-environment interaction during the warm and cold seasons in two fish farms located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, South America. A total of 120 fish, being 60 fish for species (30 in the warm season and 30 in the cold season) were examined. Water quality was measured weekly to evaluate the interaction between environmental conditions and parasitism. Fifteen species of parasites were found: Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Chilodonella hexasticha e Trichodina sp. (Protozoa), Henneguya piaractus, Myxobolus colossomatis and Myxobolus cuneus (Myxozoa); Anacanthorus penilabiatus, Mymarothecium boegeri, Mymarothecium viatorum, and Notozothecium janauachensis (Monogenoidea), Goezia spinulosa and Goezia sp. (Nematoda), Echinorhynchus jucundus (Acanthocephala), and Dolops carvalhoi, Lernaea cyprinacea (Crustacea). The ciliate protozoan I. multifiliis and monogenoids were the most prevalent parasites in the cold and warm seasons for both hybrids in the different culture systems intensive production and sportive fishing. It was observed that the serrasalmid hybrids are more susceptible to parasites and harbor high diversity of parasites in relation to the parental species C. macropomum, P. mesopotamicus and P. brachypomus, with a predominance of ectoparasites.
Topics: Animals; Aquaculture; Brazil; Characiformes; Fish Diseases; Parasites
PubMed: 33084783
DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612020084