Prevalence of endoparasite in some commercially important freshwater fishes of Bida area, Niger State: a preliminary report

The result of this preliminary report highlighted prevalence of an endoparasite (nematode) in order of prevalence. Four non-scaly commercially important fishes, namely:- Clarias sp Hererobranchus bidorsalis. Bagrus sp and Synodontis sp.; and nine scaly fishes, namely; - Gymnarchus sp, Protopterus annectus. Tilapia sp, Lates niloticus. Heterotis niloticus, Mormyrops sp, Channa Obscurus, Labeo sp and Distochodus rostratus of freshwater fadama of the Bida Area, Niger State. The extent of the spread was evaluated. While the reactions of fishermen, middlemen (fishmongers) and fish-eaters in order to appreciate the impacts of the nematode infested fishes on the populace were recorded. The paper suggested areas for further studies towards evoking desirable management strategies for the study area as follows. Such suggested areas are:- Identification and confirmation of the nematode species; life cycle of the nematode species; influence of season on the prevalence, spread and pathology in the nematode infested fishes, etc

THE ENDOPARASITE PILOSTYLES ULEI (APODANTHACEAE - CUCURBITALES) INFLUENCES WOOD STRUCTURE IN THREE HOST SPECIES OF MIMOSA

Pilostyles species (Apodanthaceae) are endoparasites in stems of the plant family Fabaceae. The body comprises masses of parenchyma in the host bark and cortex, with sinkers, comprising groups of twisted tracheal elements surrounded by parenchyma that enter the secondary xylem of the host plant. Here we report for the first time the effects of Pilostyles parasitism on host secondary xylem. We obtained healthy and parasitized stems from Mimosa foliolosa, M. maguirei and M. setosa and compared vessel element length, fiber length, vessel diameter and vessel frequency, measured through digital imaging. Also, tree height and girth were compared between healthy and parasitized M. setosa. When parasitized, plant size, vessel diameter, vessel element length and fiber length are all less than in healthy plants. Also, vessel frequency is greater and vessels are narrower in parasitized stems. These responses to parasitism are similar to those observed in stressed plants. Thus, hosts respond to the parasite by changing its wood micromorphology in favour of increased hydraulic safety.

Effect of alternate and simultaneous grazing on endoparasite infection in sheep and cattle

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Increased IL-4 and decreased regulatory cytokine production following relocation of Icelandic horses from a high to low endoparasite environment

Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated dermatitis of horses caused by bites of Culicoides spp. IBH does not occur in Iceland where Culicoides are absent. However, following importation into continental Europe where Culicoides are present, >or=50% of Icelandic horses (1st generation) develop IBH but

Endoparasite communities of five fish species (Labridae : Cheilininae) from Lizard Island: how important is the ecology and phylogeny of the hosts?

The parasite community of animals is generally influenced by host physiology, ecology, and phylogeny. Therefore, sympatric and phylogenetically related hosts with similar ecologies should have similar parasite communities. To test this hypothesis we surveyed the endoparasites of 5 closely related cheilinine fishes (Labridae) from the Great Barrier Reef. They were Cheilinus chlorounts, C. trilobatus, C. fasciatils, Epibulus insidiator and OxYcheilinus diagrainnia. VVe examined the relationship between parasitological variables (richness, abundance and diversity) and host characteristics (bodv weight, diet and phuylogeny). The 5 fishes had 31 parasite species with 9-18 parasite species per fish species. Cestode larvae (mostly Tetraphyllidea) were the most abundant and prevalent parasites followed by nematodes and digeneans. Parasites, body size and diet of hosts differed between fish species. In general, body weight, diet and host phylogeny each explained some of the variation in richness and composition of parasites among the fishes. The 2 most closely related species, Cheilinus chlorourus and C. trilobatus, had broadly similar parasites but the Other fish species differed significantly in all variables. However, there was no all -encompassing pattern. This may, be because different lineages of parasites may react differently to ecological variables. We also argue that adult parasites may respond principally to host diet. In contrast, larval parasite composition may respond both to host diet and predator-prey interactions because this is the path by which many, parasites complete their life-cycles. Finally, variation in parasite phylogeny and parasite life-cycles among hosts likely increase the complexity of the system making it difficult to find all-encompassing patterns between host characteristics and parasites, particularly when all the species in rich parasite communities are considered.

The effects of infection by Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (Myxozoa) and temperature on Fredericella sultana (Bryozoa)

The myxozoan, Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, exploits freshwater bryozoans as definitive hosts, occurring as cryptic stages in bryozoan colonies during covert infections and as spore-forming sacs during overt infections. Spores released from sacs are infective to salmonid fish, causing the devastating Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD). We undertook laboratory studies using mesocosm systems running at 10, 14 and 20 degrees C to determine how infection by T bryosalmonae and water temperature influence fitness of one of its most important bryozoan hosts, Fredericella sultana, over a period of 4 weeks. The effects of infection were context-dependent and often undetectable. Covert infections appear to pose very low energetic costs. Thus, we found that growth of covertly infected F. sultana colonies was similar to that of uninfected colonies regardless of temperature, as was the propensity to produce dormant resting stages (statoblasts). Production of statoblasts, however, was associated with decreased growth. Overt infections imposed greater effects on correlates of host fitness by: (i) reducing growth rates at the two higher temperatures: (ii) increasing mortality rates at the highest temperature: (iii) inhibiting statoblast production. Our results indicate that parasitism should have a relatively small effect on host fitness in the field as the negative effects of infection were mainly expressed in environmentally extreme conditions (20 degrees C for 4 weeks). The generally low virulence of T. bryosalmonae is similar to that recently demonstrated for another myxozoan endoparasite of freshwater bryozoans. The unique opportunity for extensive vertical transmission in these colonial invertebrate hosts couples the reproductive interests of host and parasite and may well give rise to the low virulence that characterises these systems. Our study implies that climate change can be expected to exacerbate PKD outbreaks and increase the geographic range of PKD as a result of the combined responses of T. bryosalmonae and its bryozoan hosts to higher temperatures. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Helminth parasites of hypsiboas prasinus (Anura: Hylidae) from two atlantic forest fragments, São Paulo State, Brazil

Seventy-seven males of Hypsiboas prasinus from 2 Atlantic forest fragments in the municipalities of Botucatu and Jundiaí, São Paulo State, Brazil, were examined for endoparasites. The frogs were captured in summer (January until March) and winter (July/August) of 2008 and 2009. Thirty-three males (75) from Botucatu were infected with Rhabdias cf. fuelleborni, cosmocerciid nematodes, and Cylindrotaenia americana. Twenty-five tree frogs (78.5) from Jundiaí were infected by Rhabdias cf. fuelleborni, Physaloptera sp., and cosmocerciid nematodes. Only cosmocerciid nematodes presented a statistically significance difference in prevalence (z 4.345; P < 0.001) and mean abundance (t 562.0; P < 0.001) between Botucatu and Jundiaí during the winter. Also, the cosmocerciids exhibited higher mean abundance (t 196.0; P 0.034) in winter when compared with summer at the Jundiaí site. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first report of C. americana in the Brazilian Hylidae. This study presents 4 new records of nematodes in H. prasinus. © 2012 American Society of Parasitologists.

Resistance against gastrointestinal nematodes in Crioulo Lageano and crossbred Angus cattle in southern Brazil

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection is a major cause of production losses in cattle. This study was carried out to evaluate the natural resistance against nematode infection in Crioulo Lageano and crossbred Angus male calves. Crioulo Lageano is a local cattle breed in the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. Ten weaned calves of each breed were grazed together on pasture and naturally infected with nematodes between July 2009 and December 2010. Once every 28 days, we collected fecal and blood samples for parasitological and immunological tests, as well as recording body weights. After 19 samplings, all animals were slaughtered for quantification and identification of GINs. We found that the animals had been infected with the following nematode species, in decreasing order by the mean number of specimens: Trichostrongylus axei, Cooperia punctata, Ostertagia ostertagi, Haemonchus placei, Oesophagostomum radiatum, and Trichuris spp. There were no significant differences between the Crioulo Lageano and crossbred Angus groups in terms of worm burden or nematode fecal egg count, nor in terms of the mean levels of immunoglobulin (G and A) against C. punctata and H. placei antigens, except in IgA mean level in abomasal mucus against H. placei adult worms that was significantly higher in crossbred Angus cattle (p<0.05). At the end of the study, the crossbred Angus cattle were heavier than were the Crioulo Lageano cattle (mean live weight, 507.35 and 390.3. kg, respectively). Comparative parasitological and immunological evaluation revealed no difference between two breeds in terms of their natural resistance against GINs. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Resistance of beef cattle of two genetic groups to ectoparasites and gastrointestinal nematodes in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

The resistance to infestations by ectoparasites and infections by gastrointestinal nematodes was studied in 45 animals (males and females) of two genetic groups: purebred Nelore (NI, n=28) and Three-Cross (1/2 Angus+1/4 Canchim+1/4 Nelore - TC, n=17). The animals were monitored for 24months, during which they were left to graze in tropical pastures without receiving treatment for parasites. Each month the animals were examined for infestations by external parasites, to count the numbers of cattle ticks Rhipicephalus microplus with diameter greater than 4.5mm present on the left side, horn flies (Haematobia irritans) present in the lumbar region and botfly larvae (Dermatobia hominis) present on the entire body. The H. irritans counts were performed with the aid of digital photographs. At the time of examination, fecal samples were collected to count the eggs per gram (EPG) and to perform coprocultures, and peripheral blood samples were drawn to determine the packed cell volume (PCV) and to count the eosinophils. For statistical analysis, the count data were transformed into log10 (n+1), where n is the number of parasites. For PCV, significant effects (P<0.05) were found for collection month (CO), genetic group (GG) and gender (SX), with means and respective standard errors of 41.5±0.65% for the NI animals, 39.3±0.83% for the TC, 41.5±0.72% for the females and 39.3±0.77% for the males. Regarding the eosinophil counts, only the effect of sex was significant (P<0.01), with means and respective standard errors of 926.0±46.2/μL, for males and 1088.0±43.8/μL of blood, for females. The NI animals presented lower mean counts for all the external parasites compared to the TC animals (P<0.01). For ticks, the transformed means followed by standard errors for the NI and TC animals were 0.06±0.01 and 0.34±0.02, while for horn flies these were 0.92±0.05 and 1.36±0.06 and for botfly larvae they were 0.05±0.03 and 0.45±0.05, respectively. The average EPG values were only influenced by CO (P<0.01). The coprocultures revealed the presence of the following endoparasites: Haemonchus spp., Cooperia spp., Oesophagostomum spp. and Trichostrongylus spp., the last in smaller proportion. There were no significant differences between the genetic groups for the endoparasite loads, except for Cooperia spp., which were present in greater number (P<0.05) in the NI group. The results obtained in this experiment confirm previous findings of greater susceptibility of the Nelore breed to Cooperia spp. and high resistance to ectoparasites. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Ocorrência de endoparasitos com potencial zoonótico em gatos no município de Andradina, São Paulo, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal - FMVA

Efeitos de fragmentação de hábitat sobre a prevalência de parasitoses intestinais em alouatta belzebul (Primates, Platyrrhini) na Amazônia Oriental

Estudos parasitológicos em populações naturais de primatas neotropicais são relativamente raros, existindo poucos dados disponíveis sobre o guariba-de-mão-ruiva, Alouatta belzebul. No presente estudo, populações de A. belzebul foram amostradas em cinco locais na área do reservatório da Usina Hidrelétrica de Tucuruí no sudeste da Amazônia Brasileira, correspondendo à margem direita do Rio Tocantins. As áreas de coleta incluíram a floresta contínua e fragmentos de hábitats em ilhas, com tamanhos que variaram de 180 a 484 hectares. O principal objetivo deste estudo foi a avaliação dos efeitos da perturbação do hábitat sobre os padrões de infestação por endoparasitas. A densidade populacional foi estimada para cada ponto de coleta usando o método de transecção linear, que variou de 100-108 km percorridos por ponto. Amostras fecais foram coletadas de seis a quatorze grupos em cada local, com um total de 40-46 amostras por ponto (n = 212). As amostras fecais foram fixadas em MIF e observadas através de microscópio óptico, com aumentos de até 400x. A densidade populacional variou entre 66,4 e 191,5 indivíduos por km2. No total, 76,4% das amostras foram positivas para pelo menos uma espécie de endoparasita. Foram identificadas doze táxons de endoparasitas, oito de helmintos e cinco de protozoários. Amostras individuais apresentaram até cinco diferentes espécies de endoparasitas. Em cada local de coleta, o número de espécies identificadas variou entre seis e doze e as taxas de infecção ficaram entre 67,5% e 86%. Não foram encontrados padrões sistemáticos na diversidade de parasitas ou nas taxas de infecção em relação a variáveis como, tamanho de população, densidade ou fragmentação de hábitat. A diversidade e as taxas de infecção variaram mais entre os dois pontos de floresta contínua que nos locais fragmentados e, no geral, foram menores nos locais com menor densidade populacional. A única exceção foi o Trypanoxyuris mirtutus, um oxiurídeo bastante comum transmitido através do contato direto, para o qual foi encontrada uma correlação forte entre as taxas de infecção e a densidade populacional. No geral, foram encontradas poucas evidências capazes de sustentar a hipótese de que a fragmentação do hábitat tem um efeito sistemático nos padrões de infestação em A. belzebul. Contudo, recomenda-se a realização de mais estudos detalhados antes de se estabelecer conclusões definitivas.

Variações regionais nas células epiteliais do intestino médio de Diatraea saccharalis, Fabricius 1794 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), em larvas não-parasitadas e na vigência do parasitismo por Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Spatial-temporal variation of parasites in Cnemidophorus ocellifer (Teiidae) and Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Tropiduridae) from Caatinga areas in northeastern Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes associated with gastrointestinal nematode infection in goats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Biocontrole de nematoides com fungos

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Entomologia Agrícola) - FCAV