Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T11:25:38.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Molecular characterization and development of Sarcocystis speeri sarcocysts in gamma interferon gene knockout mice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2015

J. P. DUBEY ,
S. K. VERMA ,
D. DUNAMS ,
R. CALERO-BERNAL  and
B. M. ROSENTHAL
J. P. DUBEY*
Affiliation:
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
S. K. VERMA
Affiliation:
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
D. DUNAMS
Affiliation:
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
R. CALERO-BERNAL
Affiliation:
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
B. M. ROSENTHAL
Affiliation:
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
*
*Corresponding author. USDA, ARS, APDL, BARC-East, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the definitive host for at least three named species of Sarcocystis: Sarcocystis falcatula, Sarcocystis neurona and Sarcocystis speeri. The South American opossums (Didelphis albiventris, Didelphis marsupialis and Didelphis aurita) are definitive hosts for S. falcatula and S. lindsayi. The sporocysts of these Sarcocystis species are similar morphologically. They are also not easily distinguished genetically because of the difficulties of DNA extraction from sporocysts and availability of distinguishing genetic markers. Some of these species can be distinguished by bioassay; S. neurona and S. speeri are infective to gamma interferon gene knockout (KO) mice, but not to budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus); whereas S. falcatula and S. lindsayi are infective to budgerigars but not to KO mice. The natural intermediate host of S. speeri is unknown. In the present study, development of sarcocysts of S. speeri in the KO mice is described. Sarcocysts were first seen at 12 days post-inoculation (p.i.), and they became macroscopic (up to 4 mm long) by 25 days p.i. The structure of the sarcocyst wall did not change from the time bradyzoites had formed at 50–220 days p.i. Sarcocysts contained unique villar protrusions, ‘type 38’. The polymerase chain reaction amplifications and sequences analysis of three nuclear loci (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and ITS1) and two mitochondrial loci (cox1 and cytb) of S. speeri isolate from an Argentinean opossum (D. albiventris) confirmed its membership among species of Sarcocystis and indicated an especially close relationship to another parasite in this genus that employs opossums as its definitive host, S. neurona. These results should be useful in finding natural intermediate host of S. speeri.

Keywords

Sarcocystis speeriSarcocystis falcatulaSarcocystis neuronaOpossum (Didelphis virginiana)Diagnosis
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 142 , Issue 13 , November 2015 , pp. 1555 - 1562
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Box, E. D. and Duszynski, D. W. (1978). Experimental transmission of Sarcocystis from icterid birds to sparrows and canaries by sporocysts from the opossum. Journal of Parasitology 64, 682–688.Google Scholar
Box, E. D., Meier, J. L. and Smith, J. H. (1984). Description of Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles, 1893, a parasite of birds and opossums. Journal of Protozoology 31, 521–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dame, J. B., MacKay, R. J., Yowell, C. A., Cutler, T. J., Marsh, A. and Greiner, E. C. (1995). Sarcocystis falcatula from passerine and psittacine birds: synonymy with Sarcocystis neurona, agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. Journal of Parasitology 81, 930–935.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dubey, J. P. (2000). Prevalence of Sarcocystis species sporocysts in wild caught opossums (Didelphis virginiana). Journal of Parasitology 86, 705–710.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P. and Lindsay, D. S. (1998). Isolation in immunodeficient mice of Sarcocystis neurona from opossum (Didelphis virginiana) faeces, and its differentiation from Sarcocystis falcatula . International Journal for Parasitology 28, 1823–1828.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P. and Lindsay, D. S. (1999). Sarcocystis speeri n. sp. (Protozoa: Sarcocystidae) from the opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Journal of Parasitology 85, 903–909.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Speer, C. A. and Fayer, R. (1989). Sarcocystosis of Animals and Man, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Davis, S. W., Speer, C. A., Bowman, D. D., de Lahunta, A., Granstrom, D. E., Topper, M. J., Hamir, A. N., Cummings, J. F. and Suter, M. M. (1991). Sarcocystis neurona n. sp. (Protozoa: Apicomplexa), the etiologic agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. Journal of Parasitology 77, 212–218.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Speer, C. A. and Lindsay, D. S. (1998). Isolation of a third species of Sarcocystis in immunodeficient mice fed feces from opossums (Didelphis virginiana) and its differentiation from Sarcocystis falcatula and Sarcocystis neurona . Journal of Parasitology 84, 1158–1164.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Venturini, L., Venturini, C., Basso, W. and Unzaga, J. (1999). Isolation of Sarcocystis falcatula from the South American opossum (Didelphis albiventris) from Argentina. Veterinary Parasitology 86, 239–244.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Kerber, C. E., Lindsay, D. S., Kasai, N. and Pena, H. F. J. (2000 a). The South American opossum, Didelphis marsupialis, from Brazil as another definitive host for Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999. Parasitology 121, 589–594.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Lindsay, D. S., Rezende, P. C. B. and Costa, A. J. (2000 b). Characterization of an unidentified Sarcocystis falcatula-like parasite from the South American opossum, Didelphis albiventris from Brazil. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 47, 538–544.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Speer, C. A., Bowman, D. D., Horton, K. M., Venturini, C. and Venturini, L. (2000 c). Experimental transmission of Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999 from the South American opossum (Didelphis albiventris) to the North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Journal of Parasitology 86, 624–627.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Speer, C. A. and Lindsay, D. S. (2000 d). In vitro cultivation of schizonts of Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999. Journal of Parasitology 86, 671–678.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Venturini, L., Venturini, M. C. and Speer, C. A. (2000 e). Isolation of Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999 from the South American opossum (Didelphis albiventris) from Argentina. Journal of Parasitology 86, 160–163.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Lindsay, D. S., Kerber, C. E., Kasai, N., Pena, H. F. J., Gennari, S. M., Kwok, O. C. H., Shen, S. K. and Rosenthal, B. M. (2001 a). First isolation of Sarcocystis neurona from the South American opossum, Didelphis albiventris, from Brazil. Veterinary Parasitology 95, 295–304.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Rosenthal, B. M. and Speer, C. A. (2001 b). Sarcocystis lindsayi n. sp. (Protozoa: Sarcocystidae) from the South American opossum, Didelphis albiventris from Brazil. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 48, 595–603.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Lane, E. and van Wilpe, E. (2004). Sarcocystis ramphastosi sp. nov. and Sarcocystis sulfuratusi sp. nov. (Apicomplexa, Sarcocystidae) from the keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus). Acta Parasitologica 49, 93–101.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P., Calero-Bernal, R., Rosenthal, B. M., Speer, C. A. and Fayer, R. (2015). Sarcocystosis of Animals and Man. 2nd Edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. In press.Google Scholar
Fenger, C. K., Granstrom, D. E., Gajadhar, A. A., Williams, N. M., McCrillis, S. A., Stamper, S., Langemeier, J. L. and Dubey, J. P. (1997). Experimental induction of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses using Sarcocystis sp. sporocysts from the opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Veterinary Parasitology 68, 199–213.Google Scholar
Gjerde, B. (2013). Phylogenetic relationships among Sarcocystis species in cervids, cattle and sheep inferred from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. International Journal for Parasitology 43, 579–591.Google Scholar
Gjerde, B. and Josefsen, T. D. (2015). Molecular characterisation of Sarcocystis lutrae n. sp. and Toxoplasma gondii from the musculature of two Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) in Norway. Parasitology Research 114, 873–886.Google Scholar
Mansfield, L. S., Mehler, S., Nelson, K., Elsheikha, H. M., Murphy, A. J., Knust, B., Tanhauser, S. M., Gearhart, P. M., Rossano, M. G., Bowman, D. D., Schott, H. C. and Patterson, J. S. (2008). Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) harbor Sarcocystis neurona and act as intermediate hosts. Veterinary Parasitology 153, 24–43.Google Scholar
Marsh, A. E., Barr, B. C., Tell, L., Koski, M., Greiner, E., Dame, J. and Conrad, P. A. (1997). In vitro cultivation and experimental inoculation of Sarcocystis falcatula and Sarcocystis neurona merozoites into budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). Journal of Parasitology 83, 1189–1192.Google Scholar
Stabenow, C. S., de Oliveira, F. C. R., Albuquerque, G. R. and Lopes, C. W. G. (2008). Sarcocystis lindsayi-like (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystinae) of the opossum (Didelphis aurita) from Southeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária 17(Suppl. 1), 342–344.Google Scholar
Stabenow, C. S., Ederli, N. B., Lopes, C. W. G. and de Oliveira, F. C. R. (2012). Didelphis aurita (Marsupialia: Didelphidae): a new host for Sarcocystis lindsayi (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae). Journal of Parasitology 98, 1262–1265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanhauser, S. M., Yowell, C. A., Cutler, T. J., Greiner, E. C., MacKay, R. J. and Dame, J. B. (1999). Multiple DNA markers differentiate Sarcocystis neurona and Sarcocystis falcatula . Journal of Parasitology 85, 221–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed