Search results for "MINT"

First Data on the Helminth Community of the Smallest Living Mammal on Earth, the Etruscan Pygmy Shrew, Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) (Eulipotyphla: So…

2021

Suncus etruscus is the smallest living mammal on Earth by mass. Most adults weigh 1.8–3 g with a body length of 35–48 mm. Catching it in small mammal traps in nature is extremely difficult due to its minute size, and therefore special trapping methods must be used. We had the unique opportunity of studying, for the first time, the helminth parasites of 166 individuals of S. etruscus, part of the largest collection in the world, which belonged to the French scientist Dr Roger Fons (1942–2016). A total of 150 individuals were captured in the Banyuls-Cerbère area (France) and 16 in the island of Corsica (France). We found seven helminth species, specifically, the cestodes Joyeuxiella pasqualei…

Reduced prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths and high frequency of protozoan infections in the surrounding urban area of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

2019

Human populations living in the surrounding urban areas of large Brazilian cities have increased vulnerability to intestinal parasites. However, the epidemiological scenario of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in Curitiba, Paraná's main city, remains largely unknown. To bridge this gap of knowledge, this study aims to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and to investigate potential transmission pathways of the most prevalent species detected. We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological study between July and September 2014 among schoolchildren in urban and peri-urban (deprived) areas of the municipality of Campo do Tenente, Curitiba. A total of 549 stool samples were used fo…

Heterophyid trematodes (Digenea) from penguins: A new species of Ascocotyle Looss, 1899, first description of metacercaria of Ascocotyle (A.) patagon…

2019

Two species of heterophyid trematodes were found in the Magellanic penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus (Forster), from Patagonia, Argentina. Ascocotyle (Ascocotyle) patagoniensis Hernández-Orts et al. (2012) is re-described based on new, properly fixed specimens (original material from South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens Shaw, was from frozen hosts). Metacercariae of this species are reported and described for the first time from the heart of the silversides, Odontesthes argentinensis (Valenciennes) and O. smitti (Lahille), from Patagonia. Ascocotyle (Phagicola) cameliae n. sp. is described from the intestine of S. magellanicus. The new species is placed into the subgenus Phagicola Faus…

Unusual multiparasitism causes overweight in a wood mouse,Apodemus sylvaticus(Rodentia: Muridae), from a post-fire regeneration area

2016

Multiparasitism is a common ecological phenomenon, being the norm rather than the exception, in the wild. This article describes the case of a wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, originating from a post-fire regeneration area, infected with multiple helminth species and remarkable overweight. The mouse analyzed was captured at a post-fire regeneration site in the Serra Calderona Natural Park (Comunitat Valenciana, Spain). The rodent was captured and marked for the first time in the spring of 2011, weighing 22.5 g. When it was recaptured in the winter of 2012, it weighed 44.0 g. The mouse was parasitized by a total of 31 helminths belonging to seven species, including six Taenia parva metacesto…

De novo transcriptome assembly of a facultative parasitic nematode Pelodera (syn. Rhabditis) strongyloides

2018

Pelodera strongyloides is a generally free-living gonochoristic facultative nematode. The whole genomic sequence of P. strongyloides remains unknown but 4 small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) gene sequences are available. This project launched a de novo transcriptome assembly with 100 bp paired-end RNA-seq reads from normal, starved and wet-plate cultured animals. Trinity assembly tool generated 104,634 transcript contigs with N50 contig being 2195 bp and average contig length at 1103 bp. Transcriptome BLASTX matching results of five nematodes (C. elegans, Strongyloides stercoralis, Necator americanus, Trichuris trichiura, and Pristionchus pacificus) were consistent with their evolutionary …

Functional insights into the infective larval stage of Anisakis simplex s.s., Anisakis pegreffii and their hybrids based on gene expression patterns

2018

[Background]: Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and Anisakis pegreffii are sibling species of nematodes parasitic on marine mammals. Zoonotic human infection with third stage infective larvae causes anisakiasis, a debilitating and potentially fatal disease. These 2 species show evidence of hybridisation in geographical areas where they are sympatric. How the species and their hybrids differ is still poorly understood. [Results]: Third stage larvae of Anisakis simplex s.s., Anisakis pegreffii and hybrids were sampled from Merluccius merluccius (Teleosti) hosts captured in waters of the FAO 27 geographical area. Specimens of each species and hybrids were distinguished with a diagnostic genetic m…

Giardia intestinalis and Fructose Malabsorption: A Frequent Association

2019

Nowadays, scientific studies are emerging on the possible etiological role of intestinal parasites in functional digestive disorders. Our study was carried out with healthy individuals (control group

Helminths in organ transplantation

2017

Interleukin-25-mediated resistance against intestinal trematodes does not depend on the generation of Th2 responses

2020

AbstractInterleukin-25 (IL-25) is recognized as the most relevant initiator of protective Th2 responses in intestinal helminth infections. It is well known that IL-25 induces resistance against several species of intestinal helminths, including the trematode Echinostoma caproni. E. caproni has been extensively used as an experimental model to study the factors determining the resistance to intestinal infections. Herein, we assessed the role of IL-25 in the generation of resistance in mice to E. caproni infections. ICR mice are permissive hosts for E. caproni in which chronic infections are developed in relation to the lack of IL-25 production in response to primary infection and the consequ…

Mercury, lead and cadmium concentrations in Talpa occidentalis and in their digeneans of the genus Ityogonimus

2019

Many parasites living in aquatic ecosystems are useful indicators of environmental health. On the other hand, information is scarcer with respect to the use of helminth parasites of vertebrates living in terrestrial ecosystems as monitoring tools for toxic element environmental pollution. The present study evaluates the suitability of the model Talpa occidentalis/Ityogonimus spp. as a bioindicator system for mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils from Asturias (Spain). Kidney and liver samples collected from T. occidentalis specimens (n = 36) and Ityogonimus spp. samples collected from 14 infected hosts were analyzed by ICP-MS. The highest mean levels o…