On the Parasitic Protozoa of Liberia. V. Coccidia of Liberian Rodents.

SYNOPSIS. In a survey of coccidia of rodents from Harbel, Libera, the following species of Eimeria were found and described: E. musculoidei n. sp. from Mus (Leggada) musculoides; E. separata Becker & Hall, 1931 from Rattus (Dephomys) defua (new host record); E. praomysis n. sp. from Rattus (Praomys) tullbergi rostratus; E. dasymysis n. sp. from Dasymys incomptus rufulus; E. lemniscomysis n. sp. from Lemniscomys striatus striatus; and E. lophuromysis n. sp., E. sikapusii n. sp., E. liberiensis n. sp., E. harbelensis n. sp., E. africana n. sp., and E. kruidenieri n. sp. from Lophuromys sikapusi sikapusi.     

Some Parasitic Protozoa from the Gambia

ABSTRACT. A new species of Eimeria from the fat-tailed gecko Hemidactylus brookei in Gambia, West Africa, was described and named E. helenae in honor of Mrs. Helen Levine. The oocysts averaged 22.2 μm and each contained four sporocysts (8.0 × 6.9 μ m) with two sporozoites per sporocyst. No schizogony or gametogony was discovered in the intestine, suggesting that these stages may occur in the liver or bile cannuli. The oocysts of an adeleid parasite of the insect prey of the centipede Scolopendrium morsitans were described. Plasmodium agamae, an eimeriid hemogregarine, Pirhaemocyton, and a Shellackia-type parasite were found in the blood of agamid lizards. The fruit bat Epomorphorus gambianus was commonly and heavily infected with Hepatocystis epomorphori.     

Some Recent Advances in Our Understanding of Parasitic Protozoa*†

SYNOPSIS. Striking progress in our understanding of parasitic protozoa has been achieved thru the employment of advanced electron-microscopic, biochemical, immunologic, and cultivation methods. Some recent information gathered by means of these methods on trichomonad and trypanosomatid flagellates as well as on eimeriidian and plasmodiid haemosporiidian Sporozoa is discussed. It is emphasized that the parasitic protozoa when studied by the presently available sophisticated methods in the context of being parasites, not merely cells maintained on refined media, can aid us greatly in illuminating the highly complex functional aspects of host-parasite interactions.     

The taxonomic diversity of the parasites of agnathans and fishes in the Volga basin. I. Parasitic protozoa (Protozoa)

A checklist of protozoa parasitizing fishes in the Volga basin is given. The checklist includes host species names for the each parasite and data on the occurrence of parasites in different parts of the Volga basin. The data on parasitic protozoa from 52 fish species are presented. The list containes 224 species and 10 subspecies names of the parasites. 9 species (Trypanosoma gracilis, Eimeria cheni, E. sinensis, Zschokkella striata, Chloromyxum cyprini, Myxobolus amurensis, M. driagini, M. pavlovskii, and Balantidium ctenopharyngodoni) were introduced into the Volga basin from the Amur basin along with acclimatizated fishes.     

Coccidia (Protozoa: Eimeriidae) of the Alpaca Lama pacos*

SYNOPSIS. Three new species of coccidia are described from the alpaca Lama pacos from Peru. These are the first species of coccidia to be named from this host. The oocysts of Eimeria lamae n. sp. are ellipsoidal, occasionally ovoid, 30–40 by 21–30 μ (mean 35.6 by 24.5 μ) with elongate ovoid sporocysts 13–16 by 8–10 μ (mean 15.3 by 8.5 μ). The oocysts of Eimeria alpacae n. sp. are ellipsoidal, rarely ovoid, 22–26 by 18–21 μ (mean 24.1 by 19.6 μ), with ovoid sporocysts 10–13 by 7–8 μ (mean 11.0 by 6.8 μ). The oocysts of Eimeria punoensis n. sp. are ellipsoidal, occasionally ovoid, 17–22 by 14–18 μ (mean 19.9 by 16.4 μ), with ovoid sporocysts 8–11 by 5–7 μ (mean 9.2 by 6.1 μ).     

History of Staining the Staining of Blood and Parasitic Protozoa

By the term “blood stain” one ordinarily means a compound dye formed from the chemical union of an acid and a basic dye, and usually a compound of the eosin-methylene-blue group. It is well known today that the sodium salt of a color acid (e. g. eosin) and the chloride of a dye base (e. g. methylene blue) may be converted by simple metathesis into sodium chloride plus the compound dye (e. g. methylene blue eosinate), the latter being insoluble in water unless an excess is present of either the acid or the basic dye. In modern blood stains a compound dye of this type is dissolved in methyl alcohol and mixed with water on the slide at the moment of staining.     

Cryopreservation and Storage of Parasitic Protozoa in Liquid Nitrogen

ABSTRACT. In 1961 I reported the first successful attempt to cryopreserve and store protozoa in liquid nitrogen. In this presentation, drawing on more than 30 years of personal experience, I discuss the factors which I consider to be most critical to the successful preservation and long term storage of several species of parasitic protozoa in liquid nitrogen. I then present my most successful protocol for cryopreservation of these parasites. Finally. I cite some longevity records for a variety of protozoa stored in liquid nitrogen vapor at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases. The oldest record is for a monoxenic culture of Entamoeha histolytica grown in association with Crithidia fasciculata that was frozen on January 6, 1961. Thirty-two years and 11 months later both parasites were recovered and used to initiate new culture lines.     

Seven New Eimeria spp. (Protozoa,Coccidia) from Freshwater Fishes of Canada*

Seven new species of Eimeria are described and figured from the freshwater fishes of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. They are Eimeria catostomi sp. n. and E. fernandoae sp. n. from Catostomus commersoni (Lacépède), E. etheostomae sp. n. from Etheostoma exile (Girard), E. hoffmani sp. n. from Umbra limi (Kirtland), E. micropteri sp. n. from Micropterus dolomieui Lacépède E. pungitii sp. n. from Pungitius pungitius (Linnaeus), and E. salvelini sp. n. from Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill). Furthermore, 2 new host records and 2 new distribution records for North America are reported for E. anguillae Léger & Hollande, 1922 and E. truttae Léger & Hesse, 1919 respectively. Finally, morphologically similar oocysts found in various cyprinids are regarded as belonging to E. iroquoina Molnar & Fernando, 1974.     

Coccidia (Protozoa: Eimeridae) of the Herbivorous Mole-Rat, Spalax leucodon Nordmann

SYNOPSIS. A survey of 96 herbivorous mole-rats, Spalax leucodon Nordmann, in Lalahan district of Ankara, Turkey, revealed the presence of 6 new species of coccidia. The species found, the shape and average length-width dimensions (in micrometers) of their oocysts, and the numbers of animals from which they were isolated were as follow: Eimeria lalahanensis sp. n., subspherical to ellipsoidal (20.3 × 12.5), from 10; Eimeria tuzdili sp. n., spherical to subspherical with radially striated oocyst wall, (20.5 × 16.5), from 3; Eimeria spalacis sp. n., ellipsoidal to cylindrical (16.3 × 9.8), from 90; Eimeria elliptica sp. n., ellipsoidal (14.3 × 10.1), from 8; Eimeria turkmenica sp. n., ellipsoidal (11.3 × 8.9), from 1; Isospora anatolicum sp. n., spherical (7.6 × 5.1), from 1 animal. The overall infection rate for 96 examined herbivorous mole-rats was 100%.     

Radioactive Marking of Small Mammals

The literature on the use of radioactive materials in various kinds of ecological work on small mammals is reviewed under three main headings–inert implants used as markers for tracing movements, external radioactive tags used for similar purposes, and metabolizable radionuclides introduced into the animals' bodies not only for direct tracing of movements of the marked individuals, but for indirect tracing by detecting radioactive excreta, and by automatic marking of offspring and ectoparasites, which can in turn be identified and traced. A comprehensive table summarizes the literature reviewed, and summarizes also the characteristics of the various radioactive isotopes used or suggested for use.
Tests were carried out on various possible methods of using iodine-131 as a marker for small mammals. Intraperitoneal injection of 131-iodide as silver iodide or bound to an ion-exchange resin gave an unsatisfactorily short biological half-life for direct tracing but might be useful for detecting excreta. Silver 131-iodide incorporated in epoxy resin and encapsulated in metal or plastic could prove to be a useful implant.
Silver 131 -iodide paint was quickly removed from the animals' fur by grooming, but might be useful for insects.
Silver-131-iodide–Araldite mixture on a leg ring proved useful, despite the inherent disadvantages of leg rings.     

Eimeviu (Protozoa: Coccidia) in wild populations of some British rodents

Four species of wild rodents from the British Isles, Myocustor coypus (the Coypu), Apodemus sylvaticus (the Wood mouse). Mus musculus (the House mouse) and Clethrionomys glureolus (the Bank vole) were examined during 1918 and 1919 for the presence of coccidian parasites of the genus Eimeriu. From an examination of 852 faecal samples a total of 14 species of Eimeriu was found. Species identification was based mainly on the morphology of the sporulated oocyst. The number of host species examined and the overall prevalence of infection were as follows: 252 M. coypus (45·6% infected), 471 A. sylvaticus 56·5%), 59 M. musculus (42·4%) and 70 C. glureolus (22·9%). The results are compared with previous surveys and discussed in the light of the general knowledge concerning coccidial infections. The present work showed that prevalence of infection in the wild rodents studied may be influenced by the age, weight and sex of the host, and by season.     

Genomic Signatures of Coevolution between Nonmodel Mammals and Parasitic Roundworms

Antagonistic coevolution between host and parasite drives species evolution. However, most of the studies only focus on parasitism adaptation and do not explore the coevolution mechanisms from the perspective of both host and parasite. Here, through the de novo sequencing and assembly of the genomes of giant panda roundworm, red panda roundworm, and lion roundworm parasitic on tiger, we investigated the genomic mechanisms of coevolution between nonmodel mammals and their parasitic roundworms and those of roundworm parasitism in general. The genome-wide phylogeny revealed that these parasitic roundworms have not phylogenetically coevolved with their hosts. The CTSZ and prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit beta (P4HB) immunoregulatory proteins played a central role in protein interaction between mammals and parasitic roundworms. The gene tree comparison identified that seven pairs of interactive proteins had consistent phylogenetic topology, suggesting their coevolution during host–parasite interaction. These coevolutionary proteins were particularly relevant to immune response. In addition, we found that the roundworms of both pandas exhibited higher proportions of metallopeptidase genes, and some positively selected genes were highly related to their larvae’s fast development. Our findings provide novel insights into the genetic mechanisms of coevolution between nonmodel mammals and parasites and offer the valuable genomic resources for scientific ascariasis prevention in both pandas.