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Tumusiime J, Kagoro-Rugunda G, Tolo CU, Namirembe D, Schols R, Hammoud C, Albrecht C, Huyse T. An accident waiting to happen? Exposing the potential of urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in the Lake Albert region, Uganda. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:398. [PMID: 37919743 PMCID: PMC10623741 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-06017-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by the parasitic blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium is the most common form of that constitutes a majority of over 240 million schistosomiasis cases. The enigmatic absence of urogenital schistosomiasis in Uganda has, until now, been attributed to the absence of substantial populations of suitable snail intermediate hosts. METHODS Malacological surveys were carried out in 73 sites southeast of Lake Albert, Uganda in October and November 2020. Collected snails were transported to the laboratory for identification. The snails were identified using partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit one and nuclear internal transcribed spacer barcoding. Schistosome infections in snails were also assessed using cercarial shedding and rapid diagnostic PCR techniques. RESULTS We found Bulinus globosus and Bulinus nasutus productus, the main intermediate species in the transmission of S. haematobium in mainland East Africa. In this survey, B. globosus was more common than B. nasutus productus, with the former reported at four sites (total count = 188) and the latter reported at one site (total count = 79). Molecular testing revealed a high prevalence of Schistosoma bovis in B. nasutus productus (16%), but no S. haematobium infections were found. CONCLUSIONS Given the abundance of snail hosts and the risky human water contact behaviours observed, we highlight the potential for urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Tumusiime
- Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
- Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Grace Kagoro-Rugunda
- Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Casim Umba Tolo
- Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Daisy Namirembe
- Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Ruben Schols
- Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
- Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, KU Leuven, Campus Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Cyril Hammoud
- Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
- Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Christian Albrecht
- Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
- Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Tine Huyse
- Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
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Nogueira ADJL, Mendes RJDA, França Nino CRC, Oliveira YDS, da Rocha CQ, Ambrósio HTMDJ, Everton GO, Garros Rosa I, Pereira Filho AA. Evaluation of molluscicidal activity on Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) and phytochemical characterization of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Ricinus communis L. (EUPHORBIACEAE). Exp Parasitol 2023; 247:108481. [PMID: 36780972 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2023.108481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic infection of great prevalence worldwide, affecting 250 million people in 78 countries. Faced with this problem, studies that seek to analyze molluscicidal activity from plant extracts have stood out. The present work aimed to obtain the phytochemical characterization and investigate the molluscicidal activity in the hydroalcoholic extract of Ricinus communis leaves on Biomphalaria glabrata. The hydroalcoholic extract was prepared by macerated with solvent ethanol P.A 96%, followed by filtration and concentration in rotary evaporator. Next, five groups of snails with 10 animals each, one being the negative control group, were submitted to treatments with four concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/L of hydroalcoholic extract of R. communis. The parameters mortality, physiological and behavioral aspects of mollusks were analyzed during 96h. The chemical characterization of the extract was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Chemical characterization revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids and ricinin alkaloid, but under the conditions analyzed, the presence of saponins was not observed. There was no significant molluscicidal activity of the extract. However, a greater influence was observed in the diet, in addition to the motility and physiological state of the snails (alteration of cephalopodal mass and oviposition). The toxicity test was performed with Artemia salina and no toxicity was observed for this microcrustacean. It is expected that the results obtained contribute to the fight against the expansion of schistosomiasis and that they make room for other studies that investigate the molluscicidal action of plant extracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline de Jesus Lustosa Nogueira
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Renato Juvino de Aragão Mendes
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Clícia Rosane Costa França Nino
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Yasmim Dos Santos Oliveira
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Cláudia Quintino da Rocha
- Laboratório de Química de Produtos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia - CCET Programa Pós Graduação em Química, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Halana Tereza Marques de Jesus Ambrósio
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Gustavo Oliveira Everton
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Ivone Garros Rosa
- Núcleo de Imunologia Básica e Aplicada - NIBA, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde - CCBS, Programa Pós Graduação em Saúde e Ambiente, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
| | - Adalberto Alves Pereira Filho
- Laboratório de Artrópodes Hematófagos - LAH, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Babbitt CR, Laidemitt MR, Mutuku MW, Oraro PO, Brant SV, Mkoji GM, Loker ES. Bulinus snails in the Lake Victoria Basin in Kenya: Systematics and their role as hosts for schistosomes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0010752. [PMID: 36763676 PMCID: PMC9949660 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The planorbid gastropod genus Bulinus consists of 38 species that vary in their ability to vector Schistosoma haematobium (the causative agent of human urogenital schistosomiasis), other Schistosoma species, and non-schistosome trematodes. Relying on sequence-based identifications of bulinids (partial cox1 and 16S) and Schistosoma (cox1 and ITS), we examined Bulinus species in the Lake Victoria Basin in Kenya for naturally acquired infections with Schistosoma species. We collected 6,133 bulinids from 11 sites between 2014-2021, 226 (3.7%) of which harbored Schistosoma infections. We found 4 Bulinus taxa from Lake Victoria (B. truncatus, B. tropicus, B. ugandae, and B. cf. transversalis), and an additional 4 from other habitats (B. globosus, B. productus, B. forskalii, and B. scalaris). S. haematobium infections were found in B. globosus and B. productus (with infections in the former predominating) whereas S. bovis infections were identified in B. globosus, B. productus, B. forskalii, and B. ugandae. No nuclear/mitochondrial discordance potentially indicative of S. haematobium/S. bovis hybridization was detected. We highlight the presence of Bulinus ugandae as a distinct lake-dwelling taxon closely related to B. globosus yet, unlike all other members of the B. africanus species group, is likely not a vector for S. haematobium, though it does exhibit susceptibility to S. bovis. Other lake-dwelling bulinids also lacked S. haematobium infections, supporting the possibility that they all lack compatibility with local S. haematobium, thereby preventing widespread transmission of urogenital schistosomiasis in the lake's waters. We support B. productus as a distinct species from B. nasutus, B. scalaris as distinct from B. forskalii, and add further evidence for a B. globosus species complex with three lineages represented in Kenya alone. This study serves as an essential prelude for investigating why these patterns in compatibility exist and whether the underlying biological mechanisms may be exploited for the purpose of limiting schistosome transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin R. Babbitt
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, Division of Parasites, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Martina R. Laidemitt
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, Division of Parasites, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Martin W. Mutuku
- Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Polycup O. Oraro
- Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sara V. Brant
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, Division of Parasites, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Gerald M. Mkoji
- Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Eric S. Loker
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, Division of Parasites, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
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Hammoud C, Kayenbergh A, Tumusiime J, Verschuren D, Albrecht C, Huyse T, Van Bocxlaer B. Trematode infection affects shell shape and size in Bulinus tropicus. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2022; 18:300-311. [PMID: 35957748 PMCID: PMC9357703 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Trematodes can increase intraspecific variation in the phenotype of their intermediate snail host. However, the extent of such phenotypic changes remains unclear. We investigated the influence of trematode infection on the shell morphology of Bulinus tropicus, a common host of medically important trematodes. We focused on a snail population from crater lake Kasenda (Uganda). We sampled a single homogeneous littoral habitat to minimize the influence of environmental variation on shell phenotype, and barcoded snails to document snail genotypic variation. Among the 257 adult snails analysed, 99 tested positive for trematode infection using rapid-diagnostic PCRs. Subsequently we used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to identify the trematode (co-)infections. For 86 out of the 99 positive samples trematode species delineation could discriminate among combinations of (co-)infection by 11 trematode species. To avoid confounding effects, we focused on four prevalent trematode species. We performed landmark-based geometric morphometrics to characterize shell phenotype and used regressions to examine whether shell size and shape were affected by trematode infection and the developmental stage of infection (as inferred from read counts). Snails infected by Petasiger sp. 5, Echinoparyphium sp. or Austrodiplostomum sp. 2 had larger shells than uninfected snails or than those infected by Plagiorchiida sp. Moreover, the shell shape of snails infected solely by Petasiger sp. 5 differed significantly from that of uninfected snails and snails infected with other trematodes, except from Austrodiplostomum sp. 2. Shape changes included a more protuberant apex, an inward-folded outer apertural lip and a more adapically positioned umbilicus. Size differences were more pronounced in snails with ‘late’ infections (>25 days) compared to earlier-stage infections. No phenotypic differences were found between snails infected by a single trematode species and those harbouring co-infections. Further work is required to assess the complex causal links between trematode infections and shell morphological alterations of snail hosts. Trematode infections are linked to Bulinus tropicus shell shape and size variations. Variations in shell phenotype are trematode species-dependant. Trematode infections were analysed using diagnostic PCRs and amplicon sequencing. Snail shell morphology was analysed using landmark-based geometric morphometrics.
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Comparative mitogenomics of freshwater snails of the genus Bulinus, obligatory vectors of Schistosoma haematobium, causative agent of human urogenital schistosomiasis. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5357. [PMID: 35354876 PMCID: PMC8967911 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09305-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractAmong the snail genera most responsible for vectoring human-infecting schistosomes, Bulinus, Biomphalaria, and Oncomelania, the former is in many respects the most important. Bulinid snails host the most common human blood fluke, Schistosoma haematobium, responsible for approximately two-thirds of the estimated 237 million cases of schistosomiasis. They also support transmission of schistosomes to millions of domestic and wild animals. Nonetheless, our basic knowledge of the 37 Bulinus species remains incomplete, especially with respect to genome information, even including mitogenome sequences. We determined complete mitogenome sequences for Bulinus truncatus, B. nasutus, and B. ugandae, and three representatives of B. globosus from eastern, central, and western Kenya. A difference of the location of tRNA-Asp was found between mitogenomes from the three species of the Bulinus africanus group and B. truncatus. Phylogenetic analysis using partial cox1 sequences suggests that B. globosus is a complex comprised of multiple species. We also highlight the status of B. ugandae as a distinct species with unusual interactions with the S. haematobium group parasites deserving of additional investigation. We provide sequence data for potential development of genetic markers for specific or intraspecific Bulinus studies, help elucidate the relationships among Bulinus species, and suggest ways in which mitogenomes may help understand the complex interactions between Schistosoma and Bulinus snails and their relatives.
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Young ND, Kinkar L, Stroehlein AJ, Korhonen PK, Stothard JR, Rollinson D, Gasser RB. Mitochondrial genome of Bulinus truncatus (Gastropoda: Lymnaeoidea): Implications for snail systematics and schistosome epidemiology. CURRENT RESEARCH IN PARASITOLOGY & VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES 2022; 1:100017. [PMID: 35284876 PMCID: PMC8906109 DOI: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2021.100017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Many freshwater snails of the genus Bulinus act as intermediate hosts in the life-cycles of schistosomes in Africa and adjacent regions. Currently, 37 species of Bulinus representing four groups are recognised. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene has shown utility for identifying and differentiating Bulinus species and groups, but taxonomic relationships based on genetic data are not entirely consistent with those inferred using morphological and biological features. To underpin future systematic studies of members of the genus, we characterised here the mitochondrial genome of Bulinus truncatus (from a defined laboratory strain) using a combined second- and third-generation sequencing and informatics approach, enabling taxonomic comparisons with other planorbid snails for which mitochondrial (mt) genomes were available. Analyses showed consistency in gene order and length among mitochondrial genomes of representative planorbid snails, with the lowest and highest nucleotide diversities being in the cytochrome c oxidase and nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit genes, respectively. This first mt genome for a representative of the genus Bulinus should provide a useful resource for future investigations of the systematics, population genetics, epidemiology and/or ecology of Bulinus and related snails. The sequencing and informatic workflow employed here should find broad applicability to a range of other snail intermediate hosts of parasitic trematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil D Young
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Liina Kinkar
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andreas J Stroehlein
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Pasi K Korhonen
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - J Russell Stothard
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - David Rollinson
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK.,London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, London, UK
| | - Robin B Gasser
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Chibwana FD, Tumwebaze I, Mahulu A, Sands AF, Albrecht C. Assessing the diversity and distribution of potential intermediate hosts snails for urogenital schistosomiasis: Bulinus spp. (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) of Lake Victoria. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:418. [PMID: 32795373 PMCID: PMC7427762 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04281-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Lake Victoria basin is one of the most persistent hotspots of schistosomiasis in Africa, the intestinal form of the disease being studied more often than the urogenital form. Most schistosomiasis studies have been directed to Schistosoma mansoni and their corresponding intermediate snail hosts of the genus Biomphalaria, while neglecting S. haematobium and their intermediate snail hosts of the genus Bulinus. In the present study, we used DNA sequences from part of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region to investigate Bulinus populations obtained from a longitudinal survey in Lake Victoria and neighbouring systems during 2010-2019. METHODS Sequences were obtained to (i) determine specimen identities, diversity and phylogenetic positions, (ii) reconstruct phylogeographical affinities, and (iii) determine the population structure to discuss the results and their implications for the transmission and epidemiology of urogenital schistosomiasis in Lake Victoria. RESULTS Phylogenies, species delimitation methods (SDMs) and statistical parsimony networks revealed the presence of two main groups of Bulinus species occurring in Lake Victoria; B. truncatus/B. tropicus complex with three species (B. truncatus, B. tropicus and Bulinus sp. 1), dominating the lake proper, and a B. africanus group, prevalent in banks and marshes. Although a total of 47 cox1 haplotypes, were detected within and outside Lake Victoria, there was limited haplotype sharing (only Haplotype 6 was shared between populations from Lake Victoria open waters and neighbouring aquatic systems) - an indication that haplotypes are specific to habitats. CONCLUSIONS The Bulinus fauna of Lake Victoria consists of at least B. truncatus, B. tropicus, Bulinus sp. 1 (B. trigonus?) and B. ugandae. The occurrence and wide distribution of Bulinus species in Lake Victoria potentially implies the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis in communities living along the shores and on islands of the lake who depend solely on the lake for their livelihood. More in-depth studies are needed to obtain a better picture of the extent of the disease in the Lake Victoria basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fred D. Chibwana
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Immaculate Tumwebaze
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Anna Mahulu
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Arthur F. Sands
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Christian Albrecht
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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