Cooperia curticei Giles, 1892 (nematoda: trichostrongylidae) parasite of goats (capra hircus) in the State of S?o Paulo, Brazil (author's transl)

Cooperia curticei Giles, 1892 (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae) is reported, for the first time, parasitizing the small intestine of goats (Capra hircus) in the State of S?o Paulo, Brazil. The animals came from the Region of the Alta Araraquarense. The spicules of the worms were well chitinized and measured, on the average, 153,68 micrometer with a standard error of 0,91 micrometer.     

Species of cooperia ranson, 1907, (nematoda: trichostrongylidae), parasite of bovines in the State of S?o Paulo, Brasil (author's transl)

The authors verified for the first time in the State of S?o Paulo, Brazil, the presence of Cooperia curticei Giles, 1892 (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae), parasitizing the small intestine of cattle at the Region of Alta Araraquarense.     

Efficacy of p-Toluoyl chloride phenylhydrazone against gastrointestinal helminths in ovines.

A new anthelmintic candidate, p-toluoyl chloride phenlylhydrazone, was administered to lambs in a paste formulation. The efficacy of this drug was determined at dose rates of 20, 30, 40, and 50 mg of active ingredient per kilogram of body weight. Helminths expelled by these dosages included Haemonchus contortus, Ostertagia circumcicta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, T. axei, Nematodirus filicollis, Cooperia curticei, Strongyloides papillosus, Oesophagostomum columbianum, Bunostomum trigoncephalum, Chabertia ovina, Moniezia expansa, and M. benedeni.     

Microecological characterization of parasitic nematoda present in goats of arid zones of Venezuela

Goats from the Venezuelan northern arid zones were found infested by the following nematodes: Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus axei, T. colubriformis, Cooperia curticei, Oesophagostomum columbianum, Skrjabinema ovis y Trichuris globulosa. The Shannon-Weaver index of diversity values oscillated between 0.045 and 1.73 bits (means = 1.16 +/- 0.24 bits). The maximum value of montly diversity ranged from 1 to 2.80 bits (means = 2.49 +/- 0.28 bits) and the equitability ranged from 0.045 to 0.67 (means = 0.44 +/- 0.09). Parasitic associations were found among 1) T. axei, T. colubriformis and H. contortus, 2) T. colubriformis, H. contortus and O. columbianum and 3) T. colubriformis, S. ovis and T. globulosa. The above results suggest that in months when the diversity index is close to the maximum value and the equitability index is near unity, wide spectrum antihelmintic treatment should be used for poly-parasitized animals.     

Distribution of nematode parasites of the digestive system in sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) of the Piedmontese and Valdostano Alpine arc

A survey, carried out on gastro-intestinal nematodes of sheep and goats of Piemonte and of Valle d'Aosta (87 sheep and 12 goats) has shown the presence of the following species in sheep, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Chabertia ovina, Cooperia curticei, Haemonchus contortus, Marshallagia marshalli, Nematodirus abnormalis, Nematodirus filicollis, Nematodirus helvetianus, Nematodirus spathiger, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Ostertagia circumcincta, Ostertagia lyrata, Ostertagia trifurcata, Skrjabinema ovis, Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostronglus colubriformis, Trichostronglus vitrinus, Trichuris ovis and Trichuris skrjabini; in goats, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Chabertia ovina, Haemonchus contortus, Nematodirus filicollis, Nematodirus helvetianus, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Ostertagia circumcincta, Ostertagia ostertagi, Ostertagia trifurcata, Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Trichostrongylus vitrinus. The percentage of each species in the two host is given in the text table.     

Prevalence of Cooperia punctata, C. pectinata and C. oncophora infections in dairy calves in Brazil

Cooperia is the most prevalent helminth parasitizing calves in Brazil. Three species of this genus occur most often: C. punctata, C. pectinata and C. oncophora. Six calves from dairy farms in the south of the State of Minas Gerais aged six to 15 months were killed and necropsied each month over a period of two years. The Cooperia species were identified, counted, and the numbers related to the calves' age. The worm burdens due to the three species of Cooperia were statistically different. C. punctata was the most prevalent species and had a positive correlation with the age of the calves; C. pectinata appeared with lower intensity but was always present, and C. oncophora was not found in calves older than 11 months. These results show the existence of different degrees of resistance to Cooperia species among calves as the three species did not behave similarly. It seems to be an acquired resistance. C. punctata appears to be less immunogenic than C. pectinata and C. oncophora. As C. punctata and C. pectinata are more pathogenic than C. oncophora, it seems that this pathogenicity can be related to immunogenic aspects associated with the species.     

Differences in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of eight species of gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants.

Genetic differences in the nucleotide sequence of the second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-2) among Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Ostertagia ostertagi, Cooperia oncophora, Cooperia punctata, Nematodirus helvetianus, Nematodirus filicollis, and Haemonchus contortus are described. The ITS-2 sequences of the 8 species ranged between 230 and 241 base pairs in length. Sequence similarities between the different genera varied between 60% and 80%. Identities between the different species within a genus varied between 99% for C. oncophora and C. punctata, 95% for T. axei and T. colubriformis, and 89% for N. helvetianus and N. filicollis. The ITS-2 sequences proved to be useful for species differentiation. Except for the species of Cooperia (2.07% intraspecific variations for C. oncophora and 0.83% for C. punctata) the degree of intraspecific variations (N. filicollis 0.85%, T. colubriformis 1.26%, T. axei 1.27%, H. contortus 2.60%, O. ostertagi, and N. helvetianus no variation) was markedly lower than the interspecific variations allowing a reliable differentiation within the ITS-2 region between single species.     

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Strongyloides and related nematodes

Strongyloides spp., parasitic nematodes of humans and many other terrestrial vertebrates, display an unusual heterogonic lifecycle involving alternating parasitic and free-living adult reproductive stages. A number of other genera have similar lifecycles, but their relationships to Strongyloides have not been clarified. We have inferred a phylogeny of 12 species of Strongyloides, Parastrongyloides, Rhabdias and Rhabditophanes using small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rDNA) sequences. The lineage leading to Strongyloides appears to have arisen within parasites of terrestrial invertebrates. Inferred lifecycle evolution was particularly dynamic within these nematodes. Importantly, the free-living Rhabditophanes sp. KR3021 is placed within a clade of parasitic taxa, suggesting that this species may represent a reversion to a non-parasitic lifecycle. Species within the genus Strongyloides are very closely related, despite the disparity of host species parasitised. The highly pathogenic human parasite Strongyloides fuelleborni kelleyi is not supported as a subspecies of the primate parasite S. fuelleborni fuelleborni, but is most likely derived from a local zoonotic source.     

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, S?o 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 .     

Helminth parasites in Chaunus marinus and Cranopis valliceps (Anura: Bufonidae) from Lagunas Yalahau, Yucatan, Mexico

Eight helminth taxa were found parasitizing Chaunus marinus (n = 40) and Cranopsis valliceps (n = 40) from the Parque Estatal Lagunas Yalahau, Yucatan, Mexico. Seven taxa (2 digeneans: Langeronia macrocirra, Mesocoelium monas; 1 acanthocephalan: Oncicola sp.; 3 nematodes: Rhabdias füleborni, Aplectana itzocanensis, Cruzia morleyi; and a nematode larva) were found in C. marinus, while 4 taxa (all nematodes: Rhabdias fuelleborni, Aplectana itzocanensis, Ozwaldocruzia sp., and a nematode larva) were present in C. valliceps. Nematodes, particularly A. iztocanensis, showed high prevalence, mean abundance, and mean intensity values for both species of amphibians. The occurrence of R. fuelleborni, M. monas, L. macrocirra, and C. morleyi in these amphibians from the Yucatan Peninsula confirms their neotropical distribution, while the presence of A. itzocanensis increases its geographical distribution, suggesting a preference by neotropical, rather than neartic areas.     

Female and male visually based mate preferences are consistent with reproductive isolation between populations of the Lake Malawi endemic Labeotropheus fuelleborni

Sexual selection via female mate choice is thought to have played a key role in the speciation of haplochromine cichlids, but a dominant role for visual signals in such processes has lately been called into question. In addition, the possible role of male mating preferences in haplochromine speciation has been little studied. We studied patterns of both female and male mate choice, based exclusively on visual signals, in order to evaluate potential reproductive isolation between two populations of the Lake Malawi haplochromine Labeotropheus fuelleborni. In the first experiment, females were allowed to choose between two males, one from the same population and the other allopatric with respect to the female. Females in this experiment responded more frequently to males from their own population. Similarly, the males in these trials displayed more frequently when presented with females of their own population. In the second experiment, a female was allowed to choose between two males, either both from her own population or both allopatric. In these trials, both males and females from the Katale population interacted significantly more frequently in settings in which all three individuals were from the same population ("same-population trios"), and those from the Chipoka population showed a similar trend. Thus, patterns in both male and female courtship behavior suggest that visual signals contribute to at least incipient reproductive isolation between populations of L. fuelleborni [Current Zoology 56 (1): 65-72 2010].     

The zoogeography, ecology and taxonomy of the genus Labeotropheus Ahl, 1927, of Lake Malawi (Pisces: Gichlidae)

Two species of Labeotropheus are currently recognized, but an earlier study of aquarium specimens caused doubt to be cast upon their specific distinctness. This doubt was removed by a field and laboratory study which showed that L. fuelleborni differed from L. trewavasae morphologically, in coloration, in geographic distribution, preferred habitat and ability to penetrate depth. The two species practise assortative mating.
Labeotropheus fuelleborni feeds predominantly from upper surfaces of rocks while L. trewavasae favours under surfaces. Although both species are specialized to crop epilithic algae they also feed secondarily on other food resources (e.g. plankton, insects) when these are available.
Gene flow between many populations of rock-frequenting cichlids is restricted by their sedentary nature and apparent inability to cross open water between rocky areas. Consequently, numerous geographic races, incipient species and species are found in the lake. This suggests that intralacustrine allopatric speciation may account for much of the species diversity of cichlids of rocky zones.
It is recommended that biologists working on cichlids from Lake Malawi should ascertain the precise location at which their specimens were caught and avoid using aquarium reared fish.     

Regional differences in the infection of wild Japanese macaques by gastrointestinal helminth parasites

A coprological survey of gastrointestinal parasites in wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), from 14 natural habitats was done. Ova of five nematode species (Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides fuelleborni, Streptopharagus pigmentatus, Oesophagostomum aculeatum, andGongylonema species) and a worm of the cestode species,Bertiella studieri, were detected. Some differences found in rates of infection by sex were observed in the 14 areas. Differences based on age were found in only troops in which the infection rates ofStrongyloides fuelleborni, Streptopharagus pigmentatus, andTrichuris trichiura were higher in the juvenile monkeys. The number of parasite species was related to the geographical and climatic conditions of the habitat of the troop: troops living in areas cold in winter were infected by fewer parasite species than those in southern warmer areas.     

Cone opsin genes of african cichlid fishes: tuning spectral sensitivity by differential gene expression

Spectral tuning of visual pigments is typically accomplished through changes in opsin amino acid sequence. Within a given opsin class, changes at a few key sites control wavelength specificity. To investigate known differences in the visual pigment spectral sensitivity of the Lake Malawi cichlids, Metriaclima zebra (368, 488, and 533 nm) and Dimidiochromis compressiceps (447, 536, and 569 nm), we sequenced cone opsin genes from these species as well as Labeotropheus fuelleborni and Oreochromis niloticus. These cichlids have five distinct classes of cone opsin genes, including two unique SWS-2 genes. Comparisons of the inferred amino acid sequences from the five cone opsin genes of M. zebra, D. compressiceps, and L. fuelleborni show the sequences to be nearly identical. Therefore, evolution of key opsin sites cannot explain the differences in visual pigment sensitivities. Real-time PCR demonstrates that different cichlid species express different subsets of the available cone opsin genes. Metriaclima zebra and L. fuelleborni express a complement of genes which give them UV-shifted visual pigments, while D. compressiceps expresses a different set to produce a red-shifted visual system. Thus, variations in cichlid spectral sensitivity have arisen through evolution of gene regulation, rather than through changes in opsin amino acid sequence.     

The robustness of geometric morphometrics in testing the morphological equivalence hypothesis among cichlid species from East African Great Lakes

As part of an ongoing broader investigation into whether similar morphologies among cichlid species from East African Great Lakes are due to common ancestry or convergent evolution, we used geometric morphometrics to quantitatively test the hyphothesis that Lake Tanganyika's Tropheus spp. is morphologically similar to Lake Malawi's Pseudotropheus spp. and Labeotropheus fuelleborni . Landmark-based techniques were used to investigate body shape variation and the results revealed highly significant differences among these genera with the exception of L. fuelleborni vs. Pseudotropheus ( Tropheops ) spp. An ordination of all specimens along the first two canonical variate (CV) axes indicated clear interlake separation, especially along the CV I axis, whereby Tropheus moori showed a dorsoventral expansion of the mid body section with a steeper forehead relative to Lake Malawi species. Pseudotropheus ( Maylandia ) zebra was discriminated from the rest primarily on the basis of its terminally positioned gape, which differed from the inferior subterminal gape that was prevalent in the other species. Thus, the present study reveals a pattern of parallel evolution between L. fuelleborni and Pseudotropheus ( Tropheops ) spp., but does not support an interlake convergent evolution hypothesis. Contrary to previous researchers' assertions, these results emphasize the robustness of geometric morphometrics when testing morphological equivalence hypothesis among cichlid species.  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 91 , 1–9.     

Laboratory experiments to evaluate the ability of Arthrobotrys oligospora to destroy infective larvae of Cooperia species, and to investigate the effect of physical factors on the growth of the fungus

Laboratory investigations were designed to study the influence of temperature, pH and oxygen tension on the growth of Arthrobotrys oligospora, a nematode-trapping microfungus. Experiments were performed to evaluate the potential role of A. oligospora in destroying third-stage larvae of Cooperia spp. on agar plates and in cattle faeces. The fungus had a growth rate optimum at 23 degrees C and pH 6. Anaerobic cultivation for 23 hours at 23 degrees C and 39 degrees C inhibited fungal growth, but it did not destroy the fungus, which regained growth upon a subsequent shift to aerobic conditions at 23 degrees C. Under experimental conditions in petri-dishes containing agar, the nematode-trapping efficiency of the fungus was striking in that 100% of a population of third-stage larvae of Cooperia spp. was captured within three days of the experiment. The trapping efficiency in faeces was shown to depend upon the inoculation level. At a concentration of approximately 2500 conidia per g faeces, 99% of the larvae were destroyed. The possibilities of using nematode-trapping fungi in controlling animal-parasitic nematodes are discussed.     

Human intestinal parasites in Subsaharan Africa. I. Eastern Boè and Canhabaque Island (Guinea-Bissau)

A coprological survey was carried out in 1982-1983 in East Boè and in Canhabaque Island, (Bijagòs Islands), where 289 and 288 specimens of stools, respectively, have been collected. The samples were taken from apparently healthy subjects, of both sexes and of different age groups. The tests were made according to the modified Ritchie technique. The following results were obtained: A) East Boè: 1) Protozoa: E. coli 68.9%, E. nana 24.6%, G. intestinalis 8.7%, I. buetschlii 5.9%, E. histolytica 1.7%, E. hartmanni 0.7%, T. intestinalis 0.7%. b) Helminths: Ancylostomatidae 69.2%, T. trichiura 38.4%, S. stercoralis 6.2%, Taenia sp. 1.7%, H. nana 0.7%, S. haematobium 0.7%, S. mansoni 0.7%, S. fuelleborni 0.7%. B) Canhabaque: a) Protozoa: E. coli 85.1%, I. buetschlii 14.9%, E. nana 12.5%, G. intestinalis 8.3%, C. mesnili 7.3%, E. hartmanni 1.4%, E. histolytica 1.0%, T. intestinalis 0.4%. b) Helminths: Ancylostomatidae 87.9%, T. trichiura 9.4%, S. stercoralis 7.9%, S. fuelleborni 2.8%, Trichostrongylus sp. 1.4%, A. lumbricoides 0.7%, H. nana 0.4%. Eggs of Capillaria sp. probably pseudoparasites, were found in 8.7% of samples. The high prevalence of Ancylostomatidae infections appears to be related to the heavy fecal pollution all over the examined territory. The utilization of antihelminthic drug of popular medicine, which has a specific action on A. lumbricoides, could explain the lack and the low prevalence, respectively, of A. lumbricoides infections in both examined areas. In the past, other authors emphasized the low prevalence of this parasite for other Guinea Bissau regions which have a different geomorfological constitution. The cases of S. fuelleborni and H. nana are the first reported for Guinea Bissau.     

Helminths in sympatric populations of mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) and gray rhebok (Pelea capreolus) in South Africa

Helminths of mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula fulvorufula) and gray rhebok (Pelea capreolus) were investigated in South Africa between June 1999 and February 2002. Forty-one mountain reedbuck were culled at Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve over 8 different periods, and 25 mountain reedbuck were culled at Tussen die Riviere Nature Reserve over 3 different periods. A total of 17 kinds of helminths were found at the 2 sites, including 15 nematodes, 1 trematode, and 1 cestode. At Sterkfontein, the most prevalent and abundant species were Cooperia yoshidai, Longistrongylus schrenki, and Haemonchus contortus, with the latter 2 being more abundant during November/December than at other times of the year, probably because infective larvae increased on pasture at that time. No statistical differences were found in parasite loads between male and female mountain reedbuck. No correlation was found between fecal egg counts and adult worm counts or between parasite counts and body condition. At Tussen die Riviere, helminths in mountain reedbuck were less prevalent and abundant than at Sterkfontein. The most important species were Nematodirus spathiger, Trichostrongylus falculatus, and Cooperia rotundispiculum. Four gray rhebok died of natural causes at Sterkfontein, from which 5 kinds of helminths were recovered, including C. yoshidai and Paracooperioides peleae.