Search results for "Parasitology"
showing 10 items of 1410 documents
Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 3
2017
In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens and of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte generaDicranodontium,Fontinalis,LophocoleaandRiccia, the fungal genusDiplolaeviopsis, the lichen generaAgonimia,Cladonia,Protoparmelia,Rhizocarpon, andScytinium.
The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)
2016
Endemic Sicilian pond turtles Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger et Wink were examined for the presence of haemogregarine parasites. The presence of haemogregarines, occurring mainly in the microgametocyte stage (13.2 ± 0.12 μm in length and 6.4 ± 0.52 μm in width), was observed in approximately 9% of the sampled E. trinacris. Based on the observed morphology and on the sequencing of nuclear 18S rDNA, we identified the parasite as Haemogregarina stepanowi Danilewsky, 1885. Morphometric study of uninfected and infected red blood cells has shown that H. stepanowi induces different changes in erythrocyte shape depending on the infective stage. The different…
Assessment of the conservation status of the mat-forming lichens Cladonia subgenus Cladina in Italy
2015
Cladina species are likely to suffer the impact of human pressure, resulting in a potential, as well as currently unknown, extinction risk for some of them. In this study, we used herbarium specimen data and literature data combined with geographic information system (GIS)-based analyses to assess the threatened status of Italian Cladina species according to IUCN criteria. A total of 485 records, reported during the period 1833–2013, were evaluated. Biological traits, habitat requirements and distribution patterns were used to infer species extinction risk. Extent of occurrence and area of occupancy have been calculated at the national scale, based on a 2 km × 2 km cell grid. The potential …
Líquenes y hongos liquenícolas de la Serranía de Ronda (Málaga-Cádiz), sur de España
2017
As a result of a field trip organised by the Spanish Lichen Society in Serranía de Ronda, south Spain, a catalogue of 360 taxa is presented (336 lichens, 24 lichenicolous fungi). The list includes three new records for the Iberian Peninsula: Arthonia paretinaria, Micarea myriocarpa and Niesslia keissleri, 51new ones for the Autonomous Andalusian Community, and three and 81 new ones for the province of Cádiz and of Málaga, respectively. After these results, the total updated number of the province of Málaga rises to 556 lichens and lichenicolous fungi. The best represented lichen genus is Cladonia (18) with the most species, unlike Lecanora (15), Pertusaria (12), Physconia (12) and Collema (…
Phenological and intrinsic predictors of mite and haemacoccidian infection dynamics in a Mediterranean community of lizards
2021
Ectotherms are vulnerable to environmental changes and their parasites are biological health indicators. Thus, parasite load in ectotherms is expected to show a marked phenology. This study investigates temporal host–parasite dynamics in a lizard community in Eastern Spain during an entire annual activity period. The hosts investigated were Acanthodactylus erythrurus, Psammodromus algirus and Psammodromus edwardsianus, three lizard species coexisting in a mixed habitat of forests and dunes, providing a range of body sizes, ecological requirements and life history traits. Habitat and climate were considered as potential environmental predictors of parasite abundance, while size, body conditi…
The intestinal helminth community of the spiny-tailed lizard Darevskia rudis (Squamata, Lacertidae) from northern Turkey
2015
AbstractPopulations of the lizard Darevskia rudis (Bedriaga, 1886) from northern Anatolia were examined for intestinal parasites in adult specimens. One cestode, Nematotaenia tarentolae López-Neyra, 1944 and four nematode species, Spauligodon saxicolae Sharpilo, 1962, Skrjabinelazia hoffmanni Li, 1934, Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782) and Strongyloides darevskyi Sharpilo, 1976, were found. Three of these nematodes, S. saxicolae, S. hoffmanni and S. darevskyi are suggested to be part of a module in the network of Darevskia spp. and their parasites. Only one, S. darevskyi, was identified as a Darevskia spp. specialist. The very low infection and diversity parameters are indicative of th…
Intestinal parasites of unisexual and bisexual lizards Darevskia spp. (Lacertidae) from Northeastern Anatolia
2016
Summary Four bisexual and two unisexual species of the lizard genus Darevskia from northeastern Anatolia were searched for intestinal parasites in adult specimens. One cestode, Nematotaenia tarentolae, and two nematode species, Spauligodon saxicolae and Strongyloides darevskyi, were found, the latest identified as a Darevskia specialist. No major differences between host species were recorded. The very low infection rates and diversity result in depauperate helminth communities for all these lacertid lizards being the lowest among the Palaearctic saurians. Patterns of these helminth communities are compared with those observed in other lacertid lizards from Anatolia and Europe.
Twig and Shoot Dieback of Citrus, a New Disease Caused by Colletotrichum Species
2021
(1) Background: This study was aimed at identifying the Colletotrichum species associated with twig and shoot dieback of citrus, a new syndrome occurring in the Mediterranean region and also reported as emerging in California. (2) Methods: Overall, 119 Colletotrichum isolates were characterized. They were recovered from symptomatic trees of sweet orange, mandarin and mandarin-like fruits during a survey of citrus groves in Albania and Sicily (southern Italy). (3) Results: The isolates were grouped into two distinct morphotypes. The grouping of isolates was supported by phylogenetic sequence analysis of two genetic markers, the internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA (ITS) and β-tubulin …
Volatile organic compounds in wild fungi from Mediterranean forest ecosystems
2017
AbstractHead Space-Solid Phase Micro Extraction (HS-SPME) extractions and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis allowed the identification of 72 different compounds isolated from 7 different wild inedible fungi collected in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. The VOCs reported in this study, including a total of 5 esters, 17 alcohols, 14 aldehydes, 9 ketones, 18 terpenes and 9 other compounds, have been never characterized before for Tricholoma ustaloides, Hygrophorus cossus, Russula foetens and Mycena pura.
Evolutionary relationships between digeneans of the family Brachycladiidae Odhner, 1905 and their marine mammal hosts: A cophylogenetic study.
2016
Cophylogenetic studies examine the congruence between host and parasite phylogenies. There are few studies that quantify the relative contribution of coevolutionary events, i.e. duplication, loss, failure-to-diverge, host-switching and spreading in trophically-transmitted parasites at the marine realm. We addressed this issue in the Brachycladiidae, a cosmopolitan digenean family specific to marine mammals. We used, for the first time, distance-based and event-based methods to explicitly test the coevolutionary events that have shaped the current brachycladiid-marine mammal associations. Parasite phylogeny was constructed using mtDNA ND3 sequences of nine brachycladiid species, and host phy…