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Extra-intestinal localization of Goussia sp. (Apicomplexa) oocysts in Rana dalmatina (Anura: Ranidae), and the fate of infection after metamorphosis.

Although coccidia of the genus Goussia are common parasites of fish, only 2 species have been described in amphibians: G. hyperolisi from common reed frogs Hyperolius viridiflavus from Kenya and G. neglecta from unspecified European water frogs of the genus Rana from Germany. The genus Goussia is characterized by an oocyst, with a fine oocyst wall, containing 4 dizoic sporocysts that are composed of 2 valves joined by a longitudinal suture and lacking a Stieda body (typical for the genus Eimeria). To date, infections in amphibians were generally considered to be specific to the intestine of aquatic larval stages (tadpoles) of anurans. Herein, we report on: (1) the presence of oocysts of Goussia sp. in an extra-intestinal location (liver) of tadpoles of the agile frog R. dalmatina and (2) the presence of oocysts in the liver of both juvenile and subadult R. dalmatina. These observations represent novel traits for Goussia infections in amphibians; they may explain the vertical transmission of Goussia in tadpoles.

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Ultrastructural aspects of hepatic coccidiosis caused by Goussia lusca n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Coccidia) infecting Trisopterus luscus (Gadidae) from the NE Atlantic Ocean.

Goussia lusca n. sp. is described from the liver of pouting Trisopterus luscus from the NE Atlantic Ocean in Ibero-Atlantic Portuguese and Spanish waters. Mature oocysts were 31.7 (28.8 to 35.4) microm in diameter. Each oocyst contained 4 ellipsoidal sporocysts arranged in an aleatory position, and measuring approximately 13.7 x 9.2 microm. Each sporocyst contained 2 sporozoites. Ultrastructurally, the sporocyst wall consisted of a dense inner layer 115 nm thick, transversely striated, regularly intercalated by thin grooves with electron-lucent spaces, and separated from the outer layer by a thin, light (electron-lucent) space. The outer layer was multilamellated and consisted of parallel dense bands alternating with light spaces. These lamellae formed filamentous extensions of the wall. The dehiscence suture, a characteristic feature of the genus, was present in the sporocysts. No external clinical signs were observed in the host fish. Parasites observed in the liver tissue were often enveloped in a yellowish-brown matrix, generally known as 'yellow bodies'. Sometimes sporocysts were observed in direct contact with the liver cells. Parasites in degeneration and aggregations of amylopectin granules were frequently observed surrounded by host inflammatory cells. In severe infections, we observed large agglomerations of oocysts encapsulated by layers of concentrically arranged connective tissue forming large granulomas, which caused significant replacement of the host liver parenchyma by the parasite.

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Experimental transmission of Besnoitia caprae in goats.

Experimental transmission of Besnoitia caprae from naturally chronically-infected goats to susceptible ones was achieved by intra-nasal instillation and intra-conjunctival inoculation of cystozoite-containing suspensions, subcutaneous implantation of fascia containing cysts and alternate needle pricking between the infected and non-infected goats. Typical chronic symptoms developed in the fascia-infected does. Cystozoite inoculation into the eyes and mouth did not result in infection. Kids born of dams with acute and chronic besnoitiosis did not contract the infection in utero, suggesting that intra-uterine transmission may not occur. In contrast to does with acute besnoitiosis, which occasionally aborted, the does with chronic besnoitiosis gave birth to healthy kids. Kids below the age of 4 months (pre-weaned period) born of both infected and non-infected does were susceptible to besnoitiosis but appeared to be more resistant than adult goats.

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Rodents are not a source of endogenously-produced, fecally-transmitted Caryospora bigenetica oocysts.

Fifteen Swiss-Webster mice (Mus musculus) and eight cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were inoculated orally with Caryospora bigenetica oocysts. Feces from these animals were collected from 0 to 180 days postinoculation (DPI) and examined for endogenously-produced oocysts using Nomarski microscopy. Oocysts were recovered from mouse feces at 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 14 DPI, and from cotton rat feces at 1, 2, and 9 DPI. The recovered oocysts were determined to be from the original inocula due to the presence of thick walls, polar granules, and Stieda and substieda bodies. All animals exhibited clinical signs at 8 DPI. Developmental stages of C. bigenetica were identified in various tissues of seven cotton rats found dead at 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 DPI. Caryocysts were found in muzzle, tongue, footpad, scrotum, and rectum of mice and cotton rats at 30 DPI. Fecal samples collected from mice on 0, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 DPI, and from cotton rats on 0, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 DPI were injected subcutaneously into 13 mice. Of the 13 mice, a Caryospora infection was observed only in the mouse inoculated with 0 DPI mouse feces. We propose that endogenously-produced C. bigenetica oocysts are not fecally-transmitted by Swiss-Webster mice or cotton rats.

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The morphology and pathology of Besnoitia sp. in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus).

Four of five reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) obtained from a Besnoitia sp.- infected herd at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in October 1989, had evidence of mild dermatitis over the articular surfaces of carpal and tarsal joints. Cysts of Besnoitia sp., either surrounded by inflammatory reactions or without evident host response, were present within the dermis, submucosa of the nasal turbinates, periosteum, tendons, testes and hooves. The light microscopic and histochemical features of Besnoitia sp. from reindeer were indistinguishable from those of other Besnoitia spp. described in cattle, rodents and horses. The Besnoitia sp. cysts and organisms from reindeer were unique in that bradyzoite membrane micropores and cytoplasmic enigmatic bodies were not observed. Two cats were fed cysts of Besnoitia sp. but no oocysts were detected in feces for 90 days post-infection.

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Ultrastructure of Frenkelia sp. from a Norwegian lemming in Finland.

An apparently healthy Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus) caught in northern Finland was observed to have a whitish body 0.5 to 1.0 mm in diameter in the external layer of the cerebral cortex. By light microscopy a highly lobulated cyst of Frenkelia sp. was observed. By transmission electron microscopy lemmus) collected in the cyst wall was seen consisting of a parasitophorous vacuolar membrane, an underlying electron-dense layer and a granular layer. The membrane was only slightly convoluted. The protrusions of the cyst wall appeared round but were often not distinctive. A very thin septum divided the interior of the cyst into compartments packed with bradyzoites and maturing zoites. The bradyzoites were elongate measuring 5-8 x 1.5-2 microm. This is the first electron microscopical study of Frenkelia sp. from L. lemmus.

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Hammondia hammondi organelle proteins are recognized by monoclonal antibodies directed against organelles of Toxoplasma gondii.

Hammondia hammondi and Toxoplasma gondii, 2 closely related coccidia of cats, are known to share many antigenic molecules as shown by serologic cross reactivity. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against the internal organelles of Toxoplasma gondii were tested by immunofluorescence assay and immunoelectron microscopy on the tachyzoites of H. hammondi. The MAbs anti-apex, anti-dense granules, anti-micronemes, and anti-rhoptries recognized, although weakly, the corresponding antigens on H. hammondi. This finding demonstrates that organelles of the 2 parasites are not only morphologically, but also antigenically, similar.

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Free-Tree--freeware program for construction of phylogenetic trees on the basis of distance data and bootstrap/jackknife analysis of the tree robustness. Application in the RAPD analysis of genus Frenkelia.

The Win95 program for computation of distance matrixes and construction of phylogenetic or phenetic trees on the basis of RAPD, RFLP and allozyme data was presented. In contrast with other presently available software, the program FreeTree can also assess the robustness of the tree topology by bootstrap, jackknife or OTU-jackknife analysis. Moreover, the program can be used also for an analysis of data obtained in several independent experiments performed with nonidentical subsets of taxa. The function of the program was demonstrated by an analysis of RAPD data from 22 strains of Frenkelia. The program is available as an autoextractive archive containing the installation files of FreeTree and TreeView, manual in MS Word format and a sample of the input file at http://www.natur.cuni.cz/flegr/programs/+ ++freetree.

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Evaluation of five stains in diagnosing human intestinal coccidiosis.

Three hundreds cases over the year 1998 complaining of diarrhoea were examined. The stools were examined by the traditional diagnostic methods and confirmed to be free from intestinal parasites. Cryptosporidium parvum, Isospora belli and Cyclospora cayetanensis were detected by using different types of faecal stains namely modified Ziehl-Neelsen, Kinyoun acid-fast, Auramine-rhodamine, Gomori's trichrome and Giemsa. The number of positive cases were 87 C. parvum (29%), 5 cases L. belli (1.7%) and 12 cases C. cayetanensis (4%). This study showed that the sensitivity of modified Ziehl-Neelsen and Kinyoun Acid-fast were very high (100%) in comparison with the other stains.

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Monoclonal antibodies raised against coccidia and malarial parasites recognize antigenic epitopes found in lankesterellid and adeleorin parasites.

Three murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against poultry coccidia or murine malarial parasites were tested for cross-reactivity with 2 sporozoan parasites with different life histories and hosts: Lankesterella minima (Eimeriorina), an intraerythrocytic parasite of frogs that is transmitted by leeches; and Heptazoon catesbianae (Adeleinorina) that infects the red blood cells of frogs and is transmitted by mosquitoes. MAb 1209 recognized both refractile bodies of sporozoites of L. minima, using the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) technique and immunoelectron microscopy, and recognized antigens with relative rates of migration (M(r)) of 17, 23, 26, 43, and 48 kDa on a chemiluminescent western blot of L. minima sporozoite antigens. MAbs C(3)4F1 and E12 demonstrated spotty cytoplasmic staining and labeling of the anterior pellicle of L. minima sporozoites, respectively. Gamonts of H. catesbianae labeled with only MAb E12, using IFA. These gamonts exhibited staining similar to that observed with the L. minima sporozoites. The presence of the cross-reactive epitopes recognized by these MAbs in the same conserved locations suggests that these antigens are homologous.

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Activity of a monoclonal antibody against Besnoitia besnoiti endozoites.

Besnoitia besnoiti multiplication in vitro was inhibited by a specific organelle complex-directed monoclonal antibody (MoAb) raised against the endozoite stage. Multiplication rates in antibody-treated cultures were lower at parasite/cell ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:10, than in untreated cultures, after 4 or 8 d of incubation. At 1:100 ratio, there was no difference between test and control cultures irrespective of the incubation period. In in vivo experiments, the anti-B besnoiti MoAb had no neutralizing effect on the infectivity of endozoites. Inoculation of gerbils with antibody-preincubated endozoites, followed by treatment with these MoAb through 5 successive days ultimately failed to prevent death in any of them. In Western blots the specific anti-B besnoiti MoAb of the IgG1 subclass recognized a 70 kDa endozoite protein in the cytosolic and the insoluble membrane fraction of endozoites.

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Bovine besnoitiosis: transfer of colostral antibodies with observations possibly relating to natural transmission of the infection.

Colostral antibodies to B. besnoiti were detected by immunofluorescence in four calves born to two Besnoitia-infected dams, with titres ranging from 1:64 to 1:1024. A specific antibody titre of 1:1024 was found in colostrum collected from one of the dams. Two of the newborn calves, when sampled immediately after birth, were serologically negative to B. besnoiti, but became positive on the next day. In all the calves, antibodies were detectable up to the age of 4 months. Observations concerning passive transfer of antibodies from Besnoitia-infected dams to offspring, and transmission of the infection among infected and non-infected closely kept cows, are discussed.

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Coccidian parasites (Apicomplexa) from snakes in the southcentral and southwestern United States: new host and geographic records.

Four hundred thirty-five leptotyphlopid, colubrid, elapid, and viperid snakes were collected from various localities in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and their feces were examined for coccidian parasites. Of these, 131 (30%) were passing oocysts or sporocysts of at least 1 coccidian; 88 (67%) of the infected snakes had only 1 species of coccidian when they were examined. Aquatic and semiaquatic snakes accounted for 48% of the infections, whereas strictly terrestrial snakes comprised the other 52%. There was more than a 2-fold difference in prevalence among these 2 groups as 63 of 129 (49%) of the aquatic and semiaquatic snakes versus 68 of 306 (22%) of the terrestrial snakes harbored coccidia. Most terrestrial snakes were infected by species of Caryospora and Sarcocystis that are either facultatively or obligatorily heteroxenous. The aquatic and semiaquatic species most often harbored eimerians. Attempts to transmit some of the Sarcocystis spp. experimentally from Crotalus atrox to Mus musculus, Peromyscus leucopus, Peromyscus maniculatus, or Microtus ochrogaster were unsuccessful. This report documents 27 new host and several distributional records for coccidians from snakes in the southcentral and southwestern United States.

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Host specificity of Calyptospora funduli (Apicomplexa: Calyptosporidae) in atheriniform fishes.

Calyptospora funduli has a broad host specificity, infecting at least 7 natural and 10 additional experimental definitive hosts, all atheriniform fishes within 5 families, but most in the genus Fundulus. Barriers, apparently innate ones, prevent any development of C. funduli in perciform fishes but allow incomplete or abnormal development of the parasite in a few unnatural atheriniform hosts. In the freshwater species Fundulus olivaceus and Fundulus notti, these abnormalities consisted of asynchronous development, degeneration of the parasite in early stages of development, and the formation of numerous macrophage aggregates. Rivulus marmoratus has the ability to eliminate infections with a granulomatous inflammatory response. Additional barriers that limit natural infections of C. funduli in other hosts include feeding behavior, environmental conditions, and geographic isolation.

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Besnoitiosis in a horse.

Besnoitiosis was confirmed in a pony which presented with inspiratory dyspnoea, scleroderma and ventral oedema. Numerous cysts were visible in the sclerae. Histological examination of the skin confirmed the presence of numerous cysts. The parasite could not be transmitted by subcutaneous injection of homogenised skin from the infected horse to rabbits and a horse. Ultrastructural morphology of the crescent-shaped bradyzoites was not compatable with Besnoitia besnoiti or B. jellisoni and it is proposed that the infection was caused by B. bennetti.

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