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Gering E, Laubach ZM, Weber PSD, Soboll Hussey G, Lehmann KDS, Montgomery TM, Turner JW, Perng W, Pioon MO, Holekamp KE, Getty T. Toxoplasma gondii infections are associated with costly boldness toward felids in a wild host. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3842. [PMID: 34158487 PMCID: PMC8219747 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24092-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is hypothesized to manipulate the behavior of warm-blooded hosts to promote trophic transmission into the parasite's definitive feline hosts. A key prediction of this hypothesis is that T. gondii infections of non-feline hosts are associated with costly behavior toward T. gondii's definitive hosts; however, this effect has not been documented in any of the parasite's diverse wild hosts during naturally occurring interactions with felines. Here, three decades of field observations reveal that T. gondii-infected hyena cubs approach lions more closely than uninfected peers and have higher rates of lion mortality. We discuss these results in light of 1) the possibility that hyena boldness represents an extended phenotype of the parasite, and 2) alternative scenarios in which T. gondii has not undergone selection to manipulate behavior in host hyenas. Both cases remain plausible and have important ramifications for T. gondii's impacts on host behavior and fitness in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eben Gering
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Nova Southeastern University, Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
| | - Zachary M Laubach
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, CO, USA.
- Mara Hyena Project, Narok County, Kenya.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Patty Sue D Weber
- Michigan State University, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Gisela Soboll Hussey
- Michigan State University, Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, College of Veterinary Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Kenna D S Lehmann
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, Narok County, Kenya
| | - Tracy M Montgomery
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, Narok County, Kenya
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Julie W Turner
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, Narok County, Kenya
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Biology, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Wei Perng
- LEAD Center & University of Colorado, School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, United States
| | | | - Kay E Holekamp
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Mara Hyena Project, Narok County, Kenya
| | - Thomas Getty
- Michigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, East Lansing, MI, USA
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McKenny L, O'Handley R, Kovaliski J, Mutze G, Peacock D, Lanyon S. Evidence of infection with Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in South Australia: using wild rabbits as a sentinel species. Aust Vet J 2020; 98:380-387. [PMID: 32350856 DOI: 10.1111/avj.12951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to utilise wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a sentinel species to study levels of environmental contamination with N. caninum and T. gondii in South Australia, and to examine associations with rainfall, climate and land use. DESIGN Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an apicomplexan parasite, causes the clinical disease toxoplasmosis, which can affect sheep as well as humans and many other animals. Neosporosis, the clinical disease caused by closely related Neospora caninum (N. caninum), causes abortions in cattle, with large economic impacts to cattle industries. METHODS Aliquots of wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) serum were obtained from twelve sites across South Australia over a period of eighteen years, with a total of 2114 samples. An in-house Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) was developed, and samples were screened for the specific antibodies against both T.gondii and N. caninum. RESULTS Overall, 9.9% of samples screened for T. gondii tested positive and 6.1% of samples screened for N. caninum tested positive. There was no difference observed in seroprevalence of T.gondii specific antibodies between samples collected throughout summer, autumn, winter or spring. By contrast, a significantly higher (p=0.030) seroprevalence of N. caninum specific antibodies was observed in spring than any other season. T. gondii and N. caninum antibodies were discovered at sites across a broad area of South Australia, indicating these environments maybe infected with both parasites. CONCLUSION Results provide evidence that suggests N. caninum oocysts may have different survival characteristics, such as varying tolerances to low relative humidity, than T. gondii oocysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- L McKenny
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia
| | - R O'Handley
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia
| | - J Kovaliski
- Invasive Species, Biosecurity SA, Primary Industries and Regions SA, Urrbrae, South Australia, Australia
| | - G Mutze
- Invasive Species, Biosecurity SA, Primary Industries and Regions SA, Urrbrae, South Australia, Australia
| | - D Peacock
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia.,Invasive Species, Biosecurity SA, Primary Industries and Regions SA, Urrbrae, South Australia, Australia
| | - S Lanyon
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia
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Ferreira SCM, Torelli F, Klein S, Fyumagwa R, Karesh WB, Hofer H, Seeber F, East ML. Evidence of high exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging and captive African carnivores. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2018; 8:111-117. [PMID: 30740303 PMCID: PMC6356113 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 12/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is an ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite. Mammals and birds are intermediate hosts and felid species are definitive hosts. In most human altered habitats the domestic cat is the predominant definitive host. Current knowledge of T. gondii infection in African ecosystems is limited. This study aimed to assess exposure to T. gondii in wild carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem in East Africa. Carnivores can be infected by the consumption of tissue cysts when feeding on infected animals and by incidental ingestion of oocysts from environmental contamination. Incidental ingestion should occur regardless of a species’ diet whereas the consumption of cysts should increase the chance of infection in carnivorous species. This predicts higher seropositivity in carnivorous than in insectivorous carnivores and lower seropositivity in juvenile carnivores with a long dependency on milk than in adults. We found high seropositivity in carnivorous species: 100% (15 of 15 samples) in adult African lions, 93% (38 of 41 samples) in adult spotted hyenas and one striped hyena sample was positive, whereas all four samples from the insectivorous bat-eared fox were negative. Juvenile hyenas (11 of 19 sera) had significantly lower seropositivity than adults (38 of 41 sera). Long-term monitoring of spotted hyenas revealed no significant difference in seropositivity between two periods (1988–1992 and 2000 to 2016). Identical results were produced in lion and hyena samples by a commercial multi-species ELISA (at serum dilution 1:10) and an in-house ELISA based on a recombinant T. gondii protein (at serum dilution 1:100), making the latter a useful alternative for small amounts of serum. We suggest that diet, age and lifetime range are factors determining seropositivity in carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem and suggest that the role of small wild felids in the spread of T. gondii in the African ecosystem warrants investigation. Most Serengeti lions and spotted hyenas had anti-T. gondii antibodies. Spotted hyenas' seropositivity remains similar in two time periods across 28 years. The proportion of seropositive juvenile spotted hyenas was lower than in adults. No evidence of infection in 4 wild bat-eared foxes, which are insectivorous canids. An in-house ELISA permits the use of small amounts of serum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Carolina Martins Ferreira
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred Kowalke Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Francesca Torelli
- Department of Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria, Robert Koch-Institut, Seestraße 10, 13353, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Invalidenstraße 110, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sandra Klein
- Department of Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria, Robert Koch-Institut, Seestraße 10, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Fyumagwa
- Serengeti Wildlife Research Centre, Tanzania, Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, PO Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - William B Karesh
- Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY, NY, 10460, USA.,Ecohealth Alliance, 460 West 34th Street - 17th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, USA
| | - Heribert Hofer
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred Kowalke Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Frank Seeber
- Department of Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria, Robert Koch-Institut, Seestraße 10, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marion L East
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred Kowalke Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
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