During a regular veterinary inspection of fishes from Lake Balaton, Hungary, echinostomatid metacercariae (Digenea), with collar spines characteristic of species of the genera Petasiger Dietz, 1909 and Paryphostomum Dietz, 1909, were found in the lateral line scales of a roach Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus), an apparently unique site. In a subsequent examination of 586 fishes from 20 different species, similar infections were found in 11 species. The infection was virtually restricted to the lateral line scales, other scales being infected only incidentally. These encysted metacercariae had 27 collar spines, including eight larger angle spines and 19 smaller dorsal spines arranged in two rows. Two types of metacercarial cyst were found. One type had a cyst diameter of 138-171 µm × 105-120 µm and three central dorsal spines that were larger than the remainder and tended to resemble the angle spines. The second type of metacercarial cyst had a diameter of 128-157 µm × 105-115 µm and all 19 dorsal spines of the metacercaria were of a similar size. ITS sequences of the second type of metacercaria exhibited a 100% similarity to sequences of two adult Petasiger phalacrocoracis (Yamaguti, 1939) specimens collected from the gut of Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus) in Hungary and to P. phalacrocoracis deposited in the GenBank database. Sequences obtained from two metacercariae of the first type showed a 2.8-2.9 % difference from sequences of the second type of metacercaria and from those of adult specimens of P. phalacrocoracis from cormorants. Based on these results, the second type metacercaria is considered to be a larval stage of P. phalacrocoracis, but the identity of the first type is uncertain. The unusual location of these metacercariae in the lateral line scales is discussed in relation to their transmission., Kálmán Molnár, David I. Gibson, Gábor Cech, Melitta Papp, Petra Deák-Paulus, Lajos Juhász, Norbert Tóth, Csaba Székely., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The present study analysed the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of two species of xiphidiocercariae of the ʻmicrocotylaeʼ group, Cercaria pugnax La Valette St. George, 1855, from Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus) in the Ukraine and Cercaria helvetica XII Dubois, 1928 from Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus) in Lithuania. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the ITS2 region and partial 28S gene of the nuclear rDNA revealed that both these xiphidiocercariae belong to the Lecithodendriidae Lühe, 1901 and represent larval stages of lecithodendriids parasitic in bats. Cercaria helvetica XII clustered with the typical representatives of the genus Lecithodendrium Looss, 1896, being very close, but not identical, to Lecithodendrium linstowi Dollfus, 1931. Sequences of C. pugnax matched exactly the sequences of adult Paralecithodendrium chilostomum (Mehlis, 1831). Morphological descriptions of the cercariae are included; these represent the first report of non-virgulate xiphidiocercariae belonging to the family Lecithodendriidae. Until now, the presence of glandular virgula organ in the region of the oral sucker was considered a robust synapomorphy for the Lecithodendriidae and several closely related families. Our results have shown that the relative importance of this character is in need of a re-assessment., Olena Kudlai, Virmantas Stunžėnas, Vasyl Tkach., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Three species of Pseudodactylogyrus Gusev, 1965 (Monogenea: Pseudodactylogyridae) were collected from the gills of Anguilla reinhardtii Steindachner and A. australis Richardson from several localities in Australia and eels imported to Japan from Australia. Pseudodactylogyrus gusevi sp. n. from A. reinhardtii (type host) and A. australis in Queensland, Australia is most similar to P. bini (Kikuchi, 1929), but can be differentiated by the shorter male copulatory tube, heavy sclerotisation of the vaginal tube and the presence of a small projection of the supplementary piece of the hamulus. Pseudodactylogyrus rohdei sp. n. from A. australis (type host) in Queensland, Australia is most similar to P. anguillae (Yin et Sproston, 1948), but differs in the possession of a longer cement gland and the presence of a small projection on the supplementary piece of the hamulus. Pseudodactylogyrus bini sensu Gusev, 1965 and P. anguillae sensu Gusev, 1965 are synonymised with P. gusevi sp. n. and P. rohdei sp. n., respectively. Pseudodactylogyrus mundayi sp. n. from A. australis, originating in Tasmania, Australia and sent alive to Japan, is most similar to P. kamegaii Iwashita, Hirata et Ogawa, 2002, from which it can be discriminated by the shorter male copulatory tube and the shorter vaginal tube. Dactylogyrus bialatus Wu, Wang et Jian, 1988 from Synechogobius ommaturus (Richardson) (Gobiidae) is transferred to Pseudodactylogyrus as P. bialatus comb. n. A phylogenetic tree based on the ITS2 region of six species of Pseudodactylogyrus including P. gusevi and P. mundayi shows that P. haze from a goby diverged first, and that species from eels are monophyletic, forming three lineages differing by their zoogeographical distribution. With the three new species and one new combination proposed in this paper, Pseudodactylogyrus is now comprised of eight species infecting anguillid and gobiid fish, and a key to species is presented., Kazuo Ogawa, Makoto Iwashita, Craig J. Hayward, Akira Kurashima., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of the present work was to determine whether Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius), tick species common in eastern Poland could be infected with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908). A total of 664 unfed D. reticulatus ticks were collected from six localities of Lublin province (eastern Poland) within the framework of study for the presence of bacterial, viral and parasitological infections, with use of PCR and confirmed by sequencing analysis. The prevalence of T. gondii DNA of B1 gene in the total examined D. reticulatus ticks was 3.2%. The infection varies greatly depending on the locality of tick collection (0-16.7%). Preliminary identification of clonal type (I or II/III) by Restriction Fragments Length Polymorphism PCR (RFLP-PCR) with use B1 gene showed that all isolates of T. gondii belonged to type I. RFLP analysis using genetic markers SAG1, 5'-SAG2, 3'-SAG2, SAG3, and GRA6 on B1-positive samples showed that only a single isolate proved to be type I with all five markers, another type was classified to type I according to four markers, while another five isolates had only type I alleles at GRA6, which cannot be regarded as type I confirmation. It must be pointed out that the used DNA isolation method by boiling with ammonium hydroxide enables to receive the total DNA from ticks, but may be not quite suitable for genotyping. In conclusion, this study indicates that besides Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus), also D. reticulatus should be considered as a potential vector of T. gondii. The presumption of tick-borne transmission as an alternative pathway of disease spreading could well explain the high prevalence of toxoplasmosis among the herbivorous mammals and birds. However, this hypothesis needs verification by further experimental and ecological studies., Angelina Wójcik-Fatla, Jacek Sroka, Violetta Zając, Anna Sawczyn, Ewa Cisak, Jacek Dutkiewicz., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Pigeon, doves and songbirds are hosts of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae (Rivolta, 1878), which causes avian trichomonosis. Raptors are infected when they digest infected prey. A high percentage of the diet of Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (Linnaeus) is comprised of birds. During the breeding season 2012 and 2013, we clinically tested 298 nestling Eurasian sparrowhawks from urban and rural areas of the Czech Republic for the presence of trichomonads. Sparrowhawk nestlings in the urban area were more infected (32.9%) than in the rural area (12.2%) in 2012 (χ2 = 6.184, P = 0.045). The number of infected nestlings dropped in the urban area (5.4%) and remained similar in the rural area (16.6%) in 2013. Sequences of ITS region and SSU rDNA confirmed that the isolates from infected sparrowhawk nestlings belonged to Trichomonas gallinae., Tomáš Kunca, Pavla Smejkalová, Ivan Čepička., and Obsahuje bibliografii
a1_During a recent parasitological survey of elasmobranchs along the coast of Argentina, two new species of eutetrarhynchid cestodes of the genera Dollfusiella Campbell et Beveridge, 1994 and Mecistobothrium Heinz et Dailey, 1974 were collected from batoids. Dollfusiella acuta sp. n. was found in four arhynchobatid skates, i.e. Sympterygia acuta Garman (type host), Sympterygia bonapartii Müller et Henle, Atlantoraja castelnaui (Miranda Ribeiro) and Atlantoraja platana (Günther), and Mecistobothrium oblongum sp. n. in the eagle ray Myliobatis goodei Garman. Dollfusiella acuta sp. n. has a tentacular armature consisting of basal rows of uncinate hooks, a distinct basal swelling with uncinate, falcate and bill hooks, and a heteroacanthous metabasal armature with heteromorphous hooks (bothrial uncinate hooks and antibothrial falcate hooks), hooks 1(1') not separated, testes in two columns and an internal seminal vesicle. The tentacular armature of M. oblongum sp. n. is characterised by basal rows of uncinate hooks, a basal swelling with uncinate and falcate hooks, a typical heteroacanthous metabasal armature with heteromorphous hooks (uncinate and falcate to spiniform), and hooks 1(1') separated and of a constant size along the tentacle. It also possesses an elongate scolex, numerous testes arranged in 5-6 irregular columns, and an internal seminal vesicle. The discovery of M. oblongum in M. goodei represents the first record of species of Mecistobothrium in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. An amended description of Dollfusiella cortezensis (Friggens et Duszynski, 2005) is also provided to clarify details of the scolex and tentacular armature. Members of Dollfusiella in the southwestern Atlantic are specific to a single host species or to a particular host family, while M. oblongum was found in a single host species., a2_Although globally some plerocerci of eutetrarhynchids have been found in teleosts, extensive examination of teleosts off the coast of Argentina suggests that the transmission pathways of these species are exclusively based on invertebrates as intermediate or paratenic hosts., Adriana Menoret, Verónica A. Ivanov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
During investigations of gill ectoparasites (Platyhelminthes) parasitising freshwater fish from Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama) and southeastern Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas), the following dactylogyrid monogenoidean were found: Urocleidoides simonae sp. n. from Profundulus punctatus (Günther) (type host), Profundulus balsanus Ahl, Profundulus guatemalensis (Günther), Profundulus kreiseri Matamoros, Shaefer, Hernández et Chakrabarty, Profundulus labialis (Günther), Profundulus oaxacae (Meek), Profundulus sp. 1 and Profundulus sp. 2 (all Profundulidae); Urocleidoides vaginoclaustroides sp. n. from Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculata (Heckel) (type host) and Poeciliopsis retropinna (Regan) (both Poeciliidae); and Urocleidoides vaginoclaustrum Jogunoori, Kritsky et Venkatanarasaiah, 2004 from P. labialis, Profundulus portillorum Matamoros et Shaefer and Xiphophorus hellerii Heckel (Poeciliidae). Urocleidoides simonae sp. n. differs from all other congeneric species in having anchors with well-differentiated roots, curved elongate shaft and short point. Urocleidoides vaginoclaustroides sp. n. most closely resembles U. vaginoclaustrum, but differs from this species mainly in the shape of its anchors (i.e. evenly curved shaft and short point vs curved shaft and elongate point extending just past the tip of the superficial anchor root). The complexity of potential hosts for species of Urocleidoides and their effect on its distribution on profundulid and poeciliid fishes are briefly discussed., Edgar F. Mendoza-Franco, Juan Manuel Caspeta-Mandujano, Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado, Wilfredo Antonio Matamoros., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A new microsporidian species of the genus Glugea Thélohan, 1891 parasitising the marine teleost fish Cephalopholis hemistiktos Rüppell, collected from the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, is described on the basis of microscopic and molecular procedures. Spherical and whitish xenoma were observed adhering to the intestinal wall. The numerous spores contained within these xenoma, were ovoid to pyriform and measured 4.3-6.0 µm (5.1 µm) in length and 1.8-2.9 µm (2.2 µm) in width. The spore's wall was composed of two thick layers, which were thinner in the area contacting the anchoring disk. The latter appeared at the spore's anterior pole, in an eccentric position to the longitudinal axis. A lamellar polaroplast surrounded the uncoiled portion of the polar filament projected to the basal region of the spore, giving rise to 26-29 turns with winding from the base to the anterior zone of the spore. The posterior vacuole, located at the spore's posterior pole, and surrounded by the polar filament coils, was irregular and composed of light material. Molecular analysis of the rRNA genes, including the ITS region, was performed using maximum parsimony, neighbour-joining and maximum likelihood methods. The ultrastructural features observed, combined with the phylogenetic data analysed, suggest this parasite to be a new species of the genus Glugea. This is the first species of this genus to be reported from Saudi Arabia and is herein named Glugea nagelia sp. n., Abdel-Azeem S. Abdel-Baki, Saleh Al-Quraishy, Sónia Rocha, Mohamed A. Dkhil, Graça Casal, Carlos Azevedo., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, ultrastructure of the anterior organ and posterior funnel-shaped canal of Gyrocotyle urna Wagener, 1852 (Cestoda: Gyrocotylidea) from ratfish, Chimaera monstrosa (Holocephali), was studied for the first time. The proper anterior organ is localised at a short distance (about 170 µm) from an apical pore surrounded by a receptor field, whereas its distal end is marked by a muscular sphincter. The tegumental surface of this organ is covered with short filitriches of irregular length; large area of muscle layers traverse beneath the tegumental layer. The funnel-shaped canal of G. urna (2.5-3.0 mm long) is a specialised, muscular part of the posterior attachment organ; it opens on the rounded elevation on the dorsal body surface. The tegumental layer bears conical sclerite-like structures (up to 1.5 µm long). It produces electron-dense bodies that are transported into a canal lumen and surrounded thick muscle area mixed with numerous nerve fibres. The present ultrastructural study of G. urna indicates that gyrocotylideans share some ultrastructural characters of the anterior organ with spathebothriidean cestodes with a single anterior attachment sucker-like organ. In contrast, the unique posterior rosette attachment organ with funnel-shaped canal of the Gyrocotylidea resembles the haptor of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans in its position at the posterior end of the body and presumed origin. The above-mentioned features add more clarity to support the basal position of the Gyrocotylidea Poche, 1926 among cestodes. In addition, they also indicate a possible relationship of gyrocotylidean ancestors with monogeneans., Larisa G. Poddubnaya, Roman Kuchta, Glenn A. Bristow, Tomáš Scholz., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In the present paper, we describe the ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the notocotylid Notocotylus noyeri (Joyeux, 1922) by means of transmission electron microscopy. The mature spermatozoon of N. noyeri exhibits the general pattern described in the majority of digeneans: two axonemes of the 9 + "1" pattern of the Trepaxonemata, nucleus, mitochondria, parallel cortical microtubules, spine-like bodies and ornamentation of the plasma membrane. The glycogenic nature of the electron-dense granules was evidenced applying the test of Thiéry. The ultrastructural features of the spermatozoon of N. noyeri present some differences in relation to those of the Pronocephalidea described until now, but confirm a general pattern for the Notocotylidae, namely a spermatozoon with two mitochondria and an anterior region with ornamentation of the plasma membrane associated with spine-like bodies. The posterior extremity of the spermatozoon exhibits only some microtubules after the disorganisation of the second axoneme. The present study confirms that some ultrastructural characters of the sperm cell such as the presence or absence of lateral expansions, the number of mitochondria and the morphology of both anterior and posterior spermatozoon extremities are useful for phylogenetic purposes within the Pronocephaloidea. Thus, unlike notocotylids, pronocephalids exhibit external ornamentation and a lateral expansion in the anterior spermatozoon region. Moreover, notocotylid spermatozoa present two mitochondria, whereas pronocephalid spermatozoa exhibit a single mitochondrion. Finally, pronocephalids are characterised by a type 2 posterior spermatozoon extremity, whereas notocotylids exhibit a type 3 posterior spermatozoon extremity., Papa Ibnou Ndiaye, Jordi Torres, Catarina Eira, Vladimir V. Shimalov, Jordi Miquel., and Obsahuje bibliografii