Liuda Kutkienė

The mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) as intermediate host for Sarcocystis wobeseri sp. nov. from the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis)

Morphometric and DNA investigation results of Sarcocystis wobeseri sp. nov. from the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) and Sarcocystis sp. (cyst type IV) from the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) are presented. No significant morphometric differences between the investigated Sarcocystis species were found. ITS-1, 18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA gene sequences of these species showed 100% identity. The conclusion is drawn that it is one and the same Sarcocystis species in different intermediate hosts.

Description of Sarcocystis anasi sp. nov. and Sarcocystis albifronsi sp. nov. in birds of the order Anseriformes

On the basis of the already published morphological, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA data (Kutkienė et al., Parasitol Res 99:562–565, 2006; Parasitol Res 102:691–696, 2008; Parasitol Res 104:329–336, 2009), and ITS-1 region investigation results of sarcocysts presented in this paper, Sarcocystis albifronsi sp. nov. from the white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) and Sarcocystis anasi sp. nov. from the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) are described.

Identification of Sarcocystis rileyi from the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) in Europe: cyst morphology and results of DNA analysis

Macroscopic cysts of Sarcocystis in ducks were recorded in Europe, but they were not investigated in more detail. Results of light and electron microscopy as well as 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and ITS-1 region sequences of Sarcocystis macrocysts isolated from naturally infected mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) from Lithuania are presented in this paper. According to ultrastructure results, macrocysts examined corresponds to S. rileyi. Phylogenetic investigation showed S. rileyi to be the most closely related to two unnamed Sarcocystis species from anseriforms and to the S. mucosa. This is the first well-documented case of S. rileyi in Europe.

The Species Composition of European Roe Deer (Capreolus Capreolus) Sarcocystis in Lithuania

There have been examined 30 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), hunted in four Lithuanian districts (Molėtai, Sirvintos, Ukmergė, and PanevėŽys). Sarcocystis cysts have been detected in methylene blue stained muscle preparations of 24 (80.0 ± 8.0%) animals. Using light microscopy, there have been determined four cyst types, differentiated as: S. gracilis, S. capreolicanis. S. cf. hofmanni, and Sarcocystis sp. species. These species were for the first time found in Lithuania.

Investigations of Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) Sarcocystis Species Composition in Lithuania

Thirty seven red deer (Cervus elaphus) individuals hunted in four districts of Lithuania (Molėtai, Sirvintos, Ukmergė, and Alytus) were investigated. Cysts of Sarcocystis were detected in muscle preparations stained with methylene blue of 26 (70.2 ± 7.5%) individuals. Three types of cysts differentiated under a light microscope were identified as belonging to the species S. cf. capreolicanis, S. cf. hofmanni, and Sarcocystis sp. (S. cf. grueneri?). It was found out that from one to three Sarcocystis species may parasitise one individual. In addition, it was established that as far as morphological features are concerned S. cf. capreolicanis and S. cf. hofmanni parasitising red deer are identical with, respectively, S. capreolicanis and S. cf. hofmanni parasitising roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Sarcocystis sp. (S. cf. grueneri?) was recorded in Lithuania for the first time.

New Experimental Data on the Laboratory Rat as a Definitive Host of Sarcocystis rodentifelis

An experiment on 30 Wistar Norway laboratory rats was carried out. The animals were infected by feeding them with ground skeletal muscles of 10 laboratory rats with high intensity of muscle cysts Sarcocystis rodentifelis. From the 8th to the 47th day p.i. fully sporulated oocysts and from the 10th to the 70th day p.i.—sporocysts, typical of genus Sarcocystis, were found in mucosal scrapings and in the rest of the small intestine wall in 23 out of 26 rats. The average size of oocysts was 14,6±0,07 × 11,0±0,1 (14,0–16,0 × 9,2–12,5) μm (n=58), sporocysts −10,6±0,08 × 7,5±0,05 (9,4–12,3 × 7,0–8,5) μm (n=58). These data allow us to assume that the laboratory rat serves both as the intermediate and definitive host for the species S. rodentifelis. This is the first record on the finding of Sarcocystis oocysts and sporocysts in the mucosa of the small intestine of rodents.

INVESTIGATION OF THE PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF SARCOCYSTIS SPP. FROM GREYLAG (ANSER ANSER) AND WHITE-FRONTED (ANSER ALBIFRONS) GEESE TO OTHER CYST FORMING COCCIDIA USING 18S AND 28S rRNA GENE SEQUENCES

Based on cyst morphology, Sarcocystis cysts type I were found in one White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) and cysts type III in one Greylag goose (Anser anser) and two White-fronted geese. Sarcocysts isolated from infected birds as intermediate host have not been previously described and are unnamed. Type III sarcocysts detected in White-fronted and Greylag geese may illustrate the case of polyhostal nature of sarcocysts when same-species parasites infest intermediate hosts of different species. The obtained partial sequences of 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA showed the highest homology for the genera Sarcocystis and Frenkelia. In the tree of phylogenetic relationships, the species involved in this study were grouped with Frenkelia microti, Frenkelia glareoli, Sarcocystis muris and Sarcocystis neurona. Analysis of the partial sequences of 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA revealed the phylogenetic and taxonomic status of the investigated Sarcocystis spp.

On the Investigations of Sarcocystis (Protista: Coccidia) Fauna in Moose (Alces Alces) in Lithuania

Two distinct types (Type I and Type II) of Sarcocystis cysts were established in moose (Alces alces) skeletal muscles by light microscope. The wall of Type I cysts is thin (0.8.–1.0 μ), smooth, without any apparent protrusions. Banana-shaped merozoites are 13.4–16.2 μ in length. The wall of Type II cysts has clearly visible finger- or palisade-like (up to 2.0 μ) protrusions closely crowded to each other. Banana-shaped merozoites amount to 12.6–15.8 μ in length. These two cyst types are supposed to correspond to two distinct species of elk Sarcocystis, one of which (Type I) is S. alceslatrans.

The Importance of Coprophagy and Transplacental Transmission in Spread of Sarcocystis Rodentifelis in Rats

Using the experimental model ‘Sarcocystis rodentifelis – laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus var. alba)., three experiments with 340 ‘Wistar’ rats were carried out. The aim of the study was: (1) to investigate a possibility of the faecal-oral transmission of S. rodentifelis in rats; (2) to find oocysts or sporocysts of that parasite in faeces of sarcocyst-infected rats; (3) to evaluate the role of transplacental transmission in the distribution of S. rodentifelis. It was established that intestines of rats infected with S. rodentifelis sarcocysts are infective to intact rats from days 4–8 to 54–70 (throughout the experiment) and faeces – from days 6 to 80 after the sarcocysts are eaten. In faeces of sarcocyst-infected rats, several sporocysts and one oocyst were found. In rodent faeces, sarcosporidians of those stages were detected for the first time. Sarcocysts were not found in muscles of 83 rattling born by eight females infected with oocysts/sporocysts of S. rodentifelis. A conclusion was drawn that fae...

Transmission OF Sarcocystis rodentifelis from female rats (Rattus Norvegicus) to their offspring

Pregnant female Rattus norvegicus were infected with Sarcocystis rodentifelis by feeding them portions of laboratory rats heavily laden with sarcocysts. After infecting dams in the first or last weeks of pregnancy, offspring were also found to harbour infections at 51,1 and 90,6 %, respectively. Rats infected with S. rodentifelis are able to transmit this parasite to their offspring.