nfective nymphal stages of the family Sebekidae Sambon, 1922 are reported from four species of fish in Australian waters for the first time. Infected fish were collected from locations in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and north Queensland. The infective nymphs of Alofia merki Giglioli in Sambon, 1922 and Sebekia purdieae Riley, Spratt et Winch, 1990 are reported and described for the first time. The remaining specimens were identified as belonging to the genus Sebekia Sambon, 1922 based on the combination of buccal cadre shape, shape and size of hooks, and overall body size, but could not be attributed to any of the other species of Sebekia already reported due to missing required morphological features. DNA sequences of members of the family Sebekidae are presented for the first time. The lack of knowledge on the pentastome fauna of wild crocodiles, and any potential intermediate hosts, in northern Australia, is also outlined., Diane P. Barton, Jess A.T. Morgan., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A new mite species Schizocoptes daberti sp. n. (Acariformes: Chirodiscidae) from Chrysochloris stuhlmanni Matsche (Afrosoricida: Chrysochloridae) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is described. It differs from the closely related species S. conjugatus Lawrence, 1944 in both sexes by distance si-si at least twice longer than si-se (vs these distances are subequal in S. conjugatus); in females by setae cp 30-40 µm long (vs about 65 µm long), and in males by the very weakly sclerotised posterior parts of the hysteronotal shield (vs strongly sclerotised), setae d1 situated anterior to the hysteronotal shield (vs at the hysteronotal shield), and by opened coxal fields III (vs closed). An amended generic diagnosis, including description of immature stages, and a key to named species of Schizocoptes Lawrence, 1944 are provided., Andre V. Bochkov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The ascarid nematodes Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782) and Toxocara cati (Schrank, 1788) may infect humans resulting in toxocariasis. A prior study associated species of Toxocara Stiles, 1905 with cognitive deficits in children. To determine if a similar association between toxocariasis and cognition exists in adults, we analysed a large dataset from the United States' Center for Disease Control's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We used linear-regression and multivariate models to examine the association between toxocariasis as assessed by the presence of anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies and three measures of cognitive function - simple reaction time (SRT), symbol-digit substitution (SDS) and serial-digit learning (SDL) in 4 279 adults aged 21 to 59 years. Toxocara seroprevalence did not vary with age or blood-lead concentration but did vary with gender, ethnicity, educational attainment and poverty-to-income ratio. Controlling for gender, age, blood-lead concentration, educational attainment, ethnic background and the poverty-to-income ratio, we found that toxocariasis predicted worse performance on the SDS but not on the SRT or the SDL. Moreover, there were significant interactions between toxocariasis and age, gender and educational attainment. In conclusion, toxocariasis appears to be associated with decreased cognitive function. Interactions between toxocariasis and gender, age and educational attainment further suggest that certain groups may be more susceptible than others to the cognitive dysfunction associated with toxocariasis in adults., Lance D. Erickson, Shawn D. Gale, Andrew Berrett, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is an attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine. We performed a series of co-infection experiments with BCG-Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi Landau, 1965 AS using C57BL/6 mice to analyse whether BCG can affect the development of protective immunity to infection with Plasmodium spp. and the mechanism of this protection. We divided mice into four groups: BCG-inoculation 4 weeks prior to P. c. chabaudi AS infection (B-4w-Pc); simultaneous BCG-inoculation and P. c. chabaudi AS infection (Pc+B); BCG-inoculation 3 days post P. c. chabaudi AS (Pc-3-B) infection; and mono-P. c. chabaudi AS infection as control (Pc). The parasitemia level in the B-4w-Pc group was noticeably higher than control group at 6-19 days post infection (dpi). Compared with the control group, the proportion of CD4+CD69+ T cells was significantly reduced 5, 8 and 12 dpi, but the proportion of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs was significantly increased in the B-4w-Pc group on 5 and 8 dpi. The B-4w-Pc group also demonstrated reduced levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α on 5 and 8 dpi and significantly elevated level of IL-10 on 12 dpi. There were significantly fewer mDCs (CD11c+CD11b+) and pDCs (CD11c+B220+) in the B-4w-Pc group than the control group at all the time points post infection and the expression of MHC II was noticeably reduced on day 8 pi. Our findings confirmed that BCG inoculation prior to Plasmodium infection resulted in excessive activation and proliferation of Tregs and upregulation of anti-inflammatory mediators, which inhibited establishment of a Th1-dominant immune response during the early stages of Plasmodium infection by inhibiting dendritive cells response. BCG inoculation prior to P. c. chabaudi AS infection may contribute to overgrowth of parasites as well as mortality in mice., Dong-Hua Cao, Ji-Chun Wang, Jun Liu, Yun-Ting Du, Li-Wang Cui, Ya-Ming Cao., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Carcinopodacarus polymorphus gen. n. et sp. n. (Acariformes: Dermationidae: Dermationinae) is described from the guira cuckoo Guira guira (Gmelin) (Cuculiformes: Cuculidae) in Brazil. The new genus differs from the closest genus, Psittophagoides Fain, 1964, by the following features: in both sexes, the anterior spines of trochanters I and II are absent (vs present in Psittophagoides), setae d2 are distinctly developed (vs only alveoli), and genual setae mGI are absent (vs present); in males, the hysteronotal shield is split transversally at the level of trochanters III (vs hysteronotal shield entire); in females, the platelets situated posterior to the propodonotal shield are absent (vs present), the metapodosomal sclerites are present (vs absent), and the adanal shields are fused anteriorly to each other (vs separated from each other). In this species, andropolymorphism is detected for the first time for the family. It involves various characters but the most impressive feature is the structure of legs III. In hetero- and mesomorphic males, these legs are strongly hypertrophied and have a distinct ventral spur on femora III; in homeomorphic males, legs III are not modified and subequal to legs IV., Fabio Akashi Hernandes, Luiz Gustavo A. Pedroso, Andre V. Bochkov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The presence of the parasitic copepod Neoalbionella globosa in the olfactory chamber of a specimen of the catshark Scyliorhinus canicula has been already reported in the literature, but this is the first record from the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Besides confirming this host-parasite association in the Ligurian Sea, the present study aims to describe some effects of the copepod's presence on the olfactory system of S. canicula, thus inferring potential effects of nasal parasites on olfaction. The copepod was accidentally found during a sampling campaign. The copepod, a mature female with well-developed egg sacs, parasitized the right olfactory rosette; the rosette presented visible swelling in some of the olfactory lamellae while, histologically, restricted edema was detectable close to the zone of attachment. The ipsilateral olfactory bulb, which receives the primary olfactory afferences, had a smaller number of cells and smaller neuron density compared to the contralateral bulb and to the average values for non-parasitized specimens of the same size. The results suggest that, although the olfactory rosette does not seem severely damaged, the presence of the parasite could deeply affect the highly efficient water flow within the nasal chamber, potentially causing partial olfactory impairment.
The intensification of agriculture has resulted in changes to mowing techniques. Slow manual cutting gave wild animals time to move to safer habitat patches and left hiding places for them. With the arrival of much faster mowing machinery this is no longer the case. To date, there are few ways of measuring direct mortality of new mowing capabilities on wildlife. In our study we aimed to answer whether a search dog, previously trained to find carcasses, could be used to assess mowing mortality of various species in different vegetation types in Hungary. Working with a handler, a carcass-trained dog fitted with a GPS surveyed several habitats post-mowing. All the animal remains detected were identified and recorded. 149 killed individuals were detected on 12 land parcels studied (158.2 carcasses/100 ha). The most affected vertebrate group was the reptiles (57%), all with protected status in Hungary, followed by mammals (30%) and birds (6%). Reptiles were predominantly represented by lizards, while rodents were the most common mammals found (91% and 70%, respectively). The dog also found dead brown hares, pheasants and roe deer (11% of all carcasses), which has implications for local wildlife managers. There was no statistical difference in the density of dead individuals between grassy meadows and leguminous vegetation, or in those found in the morning or afternoon. The mortality rate was not associated with the area of the mowed field. Our findings suggest that this is a viable use of carcass detection dogs. We recommend additional work of this kind to reveal the fatal impacts of new, faster mowing practices on wildlife living in agricultural landscapes to help mitigate conservation and game management conflicts.
The localisation and distribution of the serotoninergic nerve elements was studied for the first time in the flatworm Chimaericola leptogaster (Leuckart, 1830) using immunocytochemical methodology and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The musculature was investigated by histochemical staining of actin filaments; scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the sensory structures on the worm's surface. Uniciliated, bi-ciliated and multiciliated sensory endings have been described on the worm's surface. The morphological data demonstrate the presence of circular, longitudinal and diagonal muscles that comprise the musculature of C. leptogaster in the anterior, median and posterior body regions. Well-developed radial and circular muscle fibres were also observed surrounding the genital pore, two vaginae and in clumps of the haptor. The study revealed the presence of biogenic amine, serotonin, in the central and peripheral nervous systems of C. leptogaster: in the neurons and fibres of the cephalic ganglia and ventral nerve cord, in the innervation of reproductive system compartments. The localised sites of the serotoninergic elements point to important roles of serotonin in monogenean reproductive processes and, possibly, in the regulation of muscle function., Natalya V. Mochalova, Nadezhda B. Terenina, Larisa G. Poddubnaya, Valery A. Yashin, Andrei V. Kuchin, Natalya D. Kreshchenko., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The utility of inter simple sequence repeat-PCR (ISSR-PCR) assay in the genetic characterisation and elucidation of the phylogenetic relationship of different microsporidian isolates infecting tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury, is demonstrated. A total of 22 different microsporidians collected from the diseased tasar silkworms from Jharkhand state of India were analysed using morphological characters and ISSR-PCR. Observations spores under phase contrast microscope revealed oval to elongate in shape with length ranging from 3.8 μm to 5.1 μm and width from 2.6 μm to 3.3 μm. All the microsporidian isolates except MIJ-1gC showed gonadal infection and transovarial transmission in infected tasar silkworms. Fourteen out of 20 ISSR primers tested generated reproducible profiles and yielded a total of 281 fragments, of which 273 were polymorphic (97%). The degree of banding pattern was used to evaluate genetic distances and for phylogenetic analysis. The results demonstrated that ISSR analysis may be a useful and efficient tool for taxonomical grouping and phylogenetic classification of different microsporidians in general., Wazid Hassan, B. Surendra Nath., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A parasitic nematode from the stomach of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica Temminck et Schlegel in western Japan, previously identified as Heliconema longissimum (Ortlepp, 1922), was morphologically re-examined and compared with the previous descriptions. In addition, the third-stage larva of this nematode is described, based on the specimens of encapsuled larvae found in musculature of two crabs, Hemigrapsus sp. and Perisesarma bidens (De Haan), caught from the upper-intertidal zone of the same locality. As a result of the morphological observation, seven pairs of postcloacal papillae in adult males are confirmed. This matches with the character of H. longissimum, but the shape of the fifth postcloacal papillae differs between the present material and H. longissimum; the former possesses pedunculate papillae in the fifth pair whereas the latter has sessile papillae. Since the pedunculate papillae can be found in the original description and the syntype specimens of H. anguillae Yamaguti, 1935 that has been synonymised with H. longissimum, we thus here resurrect H. anguillae as an accepted species. For the life-cycle of the present nematode, littoral crabs, including the two infected species, are likely to be the source of infections for Japanese eels, acting as intermediate hosts., Hirotaka Katahira, Kazuya Nagasawa., and Obsahuje bibliografii