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Yabsley MJ, Garrett KB, Thompson AT, Box EK, Giner MR, Haynes E, Barron H, Schneider RM, Coker SM, Beasley JC, Borchert EJ, Tumlison R, Surf A, Dukes CG, Olfenbuttel C, Brown JD, Swanepoel L, Cleveland CA. Otterly diverse - A high diversity of Dracunculus species (Spirurida: Dracunculoidea) in North American river otters ( Lontra canadensis). Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2024; 23:100922. [PMID: 38516639 PMCID: PMC10955650 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2024.100922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The genus Dracunculus contains numerous species of subcutaneous parasites of mammals and reptiles. In North America, there are at least three mammal-infecting species of Dracunculus. Reports of Dracunculus infections have been reported from river otters (Lontra canadensis) since the early 1900s; however, little is known about the species infecting otters or their ecology. Most reports of Dracunculus do not have a definitive species identified because females, the most common sex found due to their larger size and location in the extremities of the host, lack distinguishing morphological characteristics, and few studies have used molecular methods to confirm identifications. Thus, outside of Ontario, Canada, where both D. insignis and D. lutrae have been confirmed in otters, the species of Dracunculus in river otters is unknown. In the current study, molecular characterization of nematodes from river otters revealed a high diversity of Dracunculus species. In addition to confirming D. insignis infections, two new clades were detected. One clade was a novel species in any host and the other was a clade previously detected in Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) from the USA and a domestic dog from Spain. No infections with D. lutrae were detected and neither new lineage was genetically similar to D. jaguape, which was recently described from a neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) from Argentina. These data also indicate that Dracunculus spp. infections in otters are widespread throughout Eastern North America. Currently the life cycles for most of the Dracunculus spp. infecting otters are unknown. Studies on the diversity, life cycle, and natural history of Dracunculidae parasites in wildlife are important because the related parasite, D. medinensis (human Guinea worm) is the subject of an international eradication campaign and there are increasing reports of these parasites in new geographic locations and new hosts, including new species in humans and domestic dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Yabsley
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Kayla B. Garrett
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Alec T. Thompson
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Erin K. Box
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Madeline R. Giner
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Ellen Haynes
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Heather Barron
- Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Sanibel, FL, 33957, USA
| | | | - Sarah M. Coker
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - James C. Beasley
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Ernest J. Borchert
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Renn Tumlison
- Applied Science and Technology, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR, 71999, USA
| | - Allison Surf
- Applied Science and Technology, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR, 71999, USA
| | - Casey G. Dukes
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, NCSU Centennial Campus, 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Colleen Olfenbuttel
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, NCSU Centennial Campus, 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Justin D. Brown
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Liandrie Swanepoel
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Christopher A. Cleveland
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
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Natalini MB, Notarnicola J, Monje LD, Vallejos AB, Gavier FS, Kowalewski MM. A new dracunculus species (Nematoda: Dracunculoidea) in neotropical otters ( Lontra longicaudis) from Argentina: morphological and molecular characterization. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2023; 22:234-242. [PMID: 38045874 PMCID: PMC10689777 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
A new species of Dracunculus is described in wild neotropical otters, Lontra longicaudis, occurring in Corrientes, Argentina, based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Worms were located in the subcutaneous tissue from two of five investigated otters. Dracunculus jaguape n. sp. is differentiated from the 14 species of Dracunculus described from mammals and reptiles by the prominent dorsal and ventral papillae on the head; deirids posterior to nerve ring; male with long needlelike spicules and presence of gubernaculum; and long first stage larva. Phylogenetic analysis using the 18S rRNA positioned Dracunculus jaguape n. sp. in an anterior position to the rest of Dracunculus sequences available and COI positioned it in a separated clade sister to Dracunculus lutrae sequences. This is the first report on the presence of this nematode in Lontra longicaudis in Argentina.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Belén Natalini
- Estación Biológica Corrientes (EBCo), CECOAL - CONICET - UNNE, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes 1200, San Cayetano, 3401, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Juliana Notarnicola
- Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS), CONICET - UNaM, Av. Tres Fronteras 183, Puerto Iguazú, 3370, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Lucas Daniel Monje
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias Del Litoral (UNL-CONICET), R.P. Kreder 2805, 3080, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Adriana Belén Vallejos
- Estación Biológica Corrientes (EBCo), CECOAL - CONICET - UNNE, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes 1200, San Cayetano, 3401, Corrientes, Argentina
- Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS), CONICET - UNaM, Av. Tres Fronteras 183, Puerto Iguazú, 3370, Misiones, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias Del Litoral (UNL-CONICET), R.P. Kreder 2805, 3080, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Dirección de Parques y Reservas, Ministerio de Turismo, 9 de Julio 929, Corrientes, 3400, Argentina
| | - Francisco Sanchez Gavier
- Estación Biológica Corrientes (EBCo), CECOAL - CONICET - UNNE, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes 1200, San Cayetano, 3401, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Martín Miguel Kowalewski
- Estación Biológica Corrientes (EBCo), CECOAL - CONICET - UNNE, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes 1200, San Cayetano, 3401, Corrientes, Argentina
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Izquierdo-Rodriguez E, Anettová L, Hrazdilová K, Foronda P, Modrý D. Range of metastrongylids (superfamily Metastrongyloidea) of public health and veterinary concern present in livers of the endemic lizard Gallotia galloti of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:81. [PMID: 36890511 PMCID: PMC9997015 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05653-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Endemic lizards of the genus Gallotia are of high ecological value to the terrestrial ecosystem of the archipelago of the Canary Islands, being potent seed spreaders as well as an important component of the diet of other vertebrates. The endemic lizard Gallotia galloti in Tenerife has recently been reported to be a paratenic host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, an invasive metastrongylid with zoonotic potential that is associated with rats as definitive hosts. However, microscopic examination of G. galloti tissue samples also revealed the presence of other metastrongylid larvae inside granulomas on the liver of this reptile. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of helminths other than A. cantonensis in tissues of G. galloti from Tenerife. METHODS A multiplex-nested PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 was designed that enabled the species-specific detection of A. cantonensis, Angiostrongylus vasorum, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, Crenosoma striatum and Crenosoma vulpis. Liver samples from 39 G. galloti were analysed. RESULTS Five metastrongylids were detected: A. cantonensis (15.4% of samples analysed), A. vasorum (5.1%), Ae. abstrusus (30.8%), C. striatum (30.8%) and undetermined metastrongylid sequences (12.8%). Co-infection was highly prevalent among the lizards which tested positive. CONCLUSIONS The study provides a new specific tool for the simultaneous detection of a range of metastrongylids of veterinary importance as well as new data on the circulation of metastrongylids in an ecosystem dominated by lizards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Departamento de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Toxicología, Medicina Legal y Forense y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de La Lagunas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Lucia Anettová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kristýna Hrazdilová
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1665/1, Brno, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Biomedical Center, Charles University, Alej Svobody 1655/76, Plzeň, Czech Republic
| | - Pilar Foronda
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. .,Departamento de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Toxicología, Medicina Legal y Forense y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de La Lagunas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
| | - David Modrý
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources (CINeZ), Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Using point-of-view cameras (Crittercams) to document potential risk behaviors for Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) transmission in domestic cats in Chad, Africa. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Coker SM, Box EK, Stilwell N, Thiele EA, Cotton JA, Haynes E, Yabsley MJ, Cleveland CA. Development and validation of a quantitative PCR for the detection of Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010830. [PMID: 36206300 PMCID: PMC9581357 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm) is a parasitic nematode that can cause the debilitating disease dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) in humans. The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program has led intervention and eradication efforts since the 1980s, and Guinea worm infections in people have decreased >99.99%. With the final goal of eradication drawing nearer, reports of animal infections from some remaining endemic countries pose unique challenges. Currently, confirmation of suspected Guinea worm infection relies on conventional molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is not specific to Guinea worm and, therefore, requires sequencing of the PCR products to confirm the identity of suspect samples, a process that often takes a few weeks. To decrease the time required for species confirmation, we developed a quantitative PCR assay targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene of Guinea worm. Our assay has a limit of detection of 10 copies per reaction. The mean analytical parameters (± SE) were as follows: efficiency = 93.4 ± 7.7%, y-intercept = 40.93 ± 1.11, slope = -3.4896 ± 0.12, and the R2 = 0.999 ± 0.004. The assay did not amplify other nematodes found in Guinea worm-endemic regions and demonstrated 100% diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Implementation of this quantitative PCR assay for Guinea worm identification could eliminate the need for DNA sequencing to confirm species. Thus, this approach can be implemented to provide more rapid confirmation of Guinea worm infections, leading to faster execution of Guinea worm interventions while increasing our understanding of infection patterns. Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) is a parasitic nematode that causes debilitating disease in humans. The Guinea Worm Eradication Program would benefit from having a rapid molecular test that can confirm species identification without time-consuming DNA sequencing. We developed a qPCR protocol targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene of Guinea worm. The assay was validated analytically over 12 experiments using a standard serial dilution as well as diagnostically on DNA samples from non-target host species and other parasites (n = 180) and Guinea worm samples (n = 200) from a diversity of hosts and geographic regions. This assay could reliably detect 10 copies of the target DNA sequence and had a mean efficiency of 93.4% with 100% diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Coker
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Erin K. Box
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Natalie Stilwell
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Thiele
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States of America
| | - James A. Cotton
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
| | - Ellen Haynes
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Michael J. Yabsley
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MJY); (CAC)
| | - Christopher A. Cleveland
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MJY); (CAC)
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