Home Medicine First molecular identification of Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa in its first intermediate host the mud snail Heleobia australis
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

First molecular identification of Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa in its first intermediate host the mud snail Heleobia australis

  • Pilar Alda EMAIL logo , Nicolás Bonel , Carlos J. Panei , Néstor J. Cazzaniga and Sergio R. Martorelli
Published/Copyright: September 25, 2015
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

This is the first study that used species-specific DNA primers to confirm the presence of the heterophyid Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa Ransom, 1920 in its first intermediate host. The larval stages (rediae and cercariae) of this parasite were morphologically and genetically identified in the gonad of the intertidal mud snail Heleobia australis (d’Orbigny, 1835) (Cochliopidae) in the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina. In addition, we asked whether the prevalence in H. australis varied between seasons. Mullets - the second intermediate host of this heterophyid - migrate in estuaries during the warmer seasons and it is expected that piscivorous birds and mammals - the definitive hosts - prey more intensively on this species at those times. Thus, the number of parasite eggs released into the tidal flat within their feces should be higher, thereby increasing the ingestion of the parasite by H. australis.We therefore expected a higher prevalence of A. (P.) longa in H. australis in the Bahía Blanca estuary during spring and summer than autumn and winter. We found that 16 out of 2,744 specimens of H. australis had been infected with A. (P.) longa (total prevalence of 0.58%). Nonetheless, the prevalence showed no significant variation between seasons. Hence, we discuss an alternative scenario where the lack of seasonal changes might be mostly related to the permanent residence of definitive hosts in the estuary and not to the seasonal recruitment of mullets. Finally, we highlight the need for more experimental and comparative approaches in order to understand the diagnosis and geographical distribution of this worldwide heterophyid.

References

Alda P., Martorelli S. 2014. Larval trematodes infecting the South American intertidal mud snail Heleobia australis (Rissooidea: Cochliopidae). Acta Parasitologica, 59, 50-6710.2478/s11686-014-0209-3Search in Google Scholar

Antunes Barros L., Santos de Arruda V., Corrêa Gomes D., Magalhães Pinto R. 2002. First natural infection by Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa Ransom (Digenea, Heterophyidae) in an avian host, Ardea cocoi Linnaeus (Aves, Ciconiiformes, Ardeidae) in Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 19, 151-15510.1590/S0101-81752002000100013Search in Google Scholar

Brandão M., Luque J.L., Scholz T., Kostadinova A. 2013. New records and descriptions of digeneans from the Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus (Forster) (Aves: Sphenisciformes) on the coast of Brazil. Systematic Parasitology, 85, 79-9810.1007/s11230-013-9410-2Search in Google Scholar

Carnevia D., Perreta A., Venzal J.M., Castro O. 2004. Heleobia australis (Mollusca, Hydrobiidae) y Mugil platanus (Pisces, Mugilidae), primer y segundo hospedador intermediario de Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa (Digenea, Heterophyidae) en Uruguay. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 13, 283Search in Google Scholar

Chieffi P.P., Leite O.H., Dias R.M.D., Torres D.M.A. V., Mangini A. C.S. 1990. Human parasitism by Phagicola sp. (Trematoda, Heterophyidae) in Cananesia, São Paulo State, Brazil. Revista do Instituto Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 32, 285-288. DOI: 10.1590/S0036-4665199000040000810.1590/S0036-46651990000400008Search in Google Scholar

Dzikowski R., Levy M.G., Poore M.F., Flowers J.R., Paperna I. 2004. Use of rDNA polymorphism for identification of Heterophyidae infecting freshwater fishes. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 59, 35-4110.3354/dao059035Search in Google Scholar

Etchegoin J.A. 1997. Sistemas parasitarios presentes en la albufera Mar Chiquita. PhD Thesis, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, ArgentinaSearch in Google Scholar

González-Castro M., Macchi G.J., Cousseau M.B. 2011. Studies on reproduction of the mullet Mugil platanus Günther, 1880 (Actinopterygii, Mugilidae) from the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon, Argentina: Similarities and differences with related species. Italalian Journal of Zoology, 78, 343-35310.1080/11250003.2010.549154Search in Google Scholar

Hung N.M., Madsen H., Fried B. 2013. Global status of fish-borne zoonotic trematodiasis in humans. Acta Parasitologica, 58, 231-25810.2478/s11686-013-0155-5Search in Google Scholar

Martorelli S.R., Lino A., Marcotegui P., Montes M., Alda P., Panei C. J. 2012. Morphological and molecular identification of the fish-borne metacercaria of Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa Ransom, 1920 in Mugil liza from Argentina. Veterinary Parasitology, 190, 599-603 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.07.002Search in Google Scholar

Morgades D., Katz H., Castro O., Capellino D., Casas L., Benítez G., Venzal J. M., Morana A. 2006. Fauna parasitaria del lobo fino Arctocaphalus australis y del león marino Otaria flavescens (Mammalia, Otariidae) en la costa uruguaya. In: (Eds. R. Menafra, L. Rodriguez-Gallego, F. Scarabino and D. Conde ) Bases para la conservación y el manejo de la costa uruguaya. Vida Silvestre, Uruguay, 89-96Search in Google Scholar

Olson P.D., Cribb T.H., Tkach V.V., Bray R.A., Littlewood D.T.J. 2003. Phylogeny and classification of the Digenea (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda). International Journal of Parasitology, 33, 733-75510.1016/S0020-7519(03)00049-3Search in Google Scholar

Pereira E.M., Müller G., Secchi E., Pereira Jr.J., Valente A.L.S. 2013. Digenetic trematodes in South American Sea Lions from Southern Brazilian Waters. Journal of Parasitology, 99, 910-91310.1645/GE-3216.1Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Petracci P.F, Delhey K. 2005. Guía de Aves Marinas y Costeras de la ría de Bahía Blanca. Asociación Industrial Química, Bahía Blanca, 96 ppSearch in Google Scholar

Petracci P.F., Sotelo M., Massola V., Carrizo M., Scorolli A., Zalba S., Delhey V. 2010. Actualización sobre el estado del apostadero de lobo marino de un pelo sudamericano (Otaria flavescens) en la Isla Trinidad, estuario de Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Mastozoología Neotropical, 17, 175-182Search in Google Scholar

Portes Santos C., Corrêa Lopes K., da Silva Costa V., Nunes dos Santos E. G. 2013. Fish-borne trematodosis: Potential risk of infection by Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa (Heterophyidae). Veterinary Parasitology, 193, 302-30610.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.011Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Simões S.B.E., Barbosa H.S., Portes Santos C. 2010. The life cycle of Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa (Digenea: Heterophyidae), a causative agent of fish-borne trematodosis. Acta Tropica, 113, 226-23310.1016/j.actatropica.2009.10.020Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Tamura K., Dudley J., Nei M., Kumar S. 2007. MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 24, 1596-159910.1093/molbev/msm092Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Received: 2015-2-9
Revised: 2015-3-20
Accepted: 2015-4-29
Published Online: 2015-9-25
Published in Print: 2015-12-1

W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology, PAS

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Sperm transfer in monogenean (platyhelminth) parasites
  2. A survey for potentially zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and pigs in Cambodia
  3. Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cat – first detection in Poland
  4. Association between immunoreactivity to Anisakis spp. antigens and high-risk pregnancy
  5. Stibarokris mariasi sp. nov. – a new quill mite species (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) parasitizing Puffinus pacificus (Gmelin) (Procellariidae) on Johnston Atoll
  6. Seroprevalence and correlates of Toxoplasma gondii infection in dairy cattle in northwest China
  7. Mites and internal parasites associated with the common dung beetle Geotrupes (Anoplotrupes) stercorosus (Hartmann in Scriba, 1791) in Poland
  8. New species of Cosmocercoides (Nematoda; Cosmocercidae) and other helminths in Gonocephalus liogaster (Squamata; Agamidae) from Peninsular Malaysia
  9. Cryptosporidium identification in HIV-Infected Humans. Experience from Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo
  10. The infection of reintroduced ruminants – Bison bonasus and Alces alces – with Anaplasma phagocytophilum in northern Poland
  11. Molecular studies on larvae of Pseudoterranova parasite of Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758 and Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766) off Brazilian waters
  12. Coexistence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. genospecies within Ixodes ricinus ticks from central and eastern Poland
  13. Molecular characterization of cystic echinococcosis: First record of G7 in Egypt and G1 in Yemen
  14. Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from southern Poland
  15. A new species of Cosmocerca (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) and other helminths in Cyrtodactylus gubaot (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Philippines
  16. Alveolar echinococcosis: how knowledgeable are primary care physicians and pharmacists in the Franche-Comté region of France?
  17. Morphologic and molecular characteristics of Sarcocystis atraii n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) infecting the common coot (Fulica atra) from Egypt
  18. Auto-infection by Echinostoma spp. cercariae in Helisoma anceps
  19. Risk factors of occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii among horses in the state of Alagoas, Brazil
  20. Cardiopulmonary helminths in foxes from the Pyrenees
  21. Risk of soil-transmitted helminth infections on agritourism farms in central and eastern Poland
  22. Evaluating the Babesia bovis infection of cattle in China with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
  23. Production and preliminary evaluation of Trypanosoma evansi HSP70 for antibody detection in Equids
  24. Malondialdehyde; Lipid peroxidation plasma biomarker correlated with hepatic fibrosis in human Schistosoma mansoni infection
  25. A new species of the feather mite genus Tyrannidectes Mironov, 2008 (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from tapaculos (Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae) in Chile
  26. Recent study on canine vector-borne zoonoses in southern Slovakia – serologic survey
  27. Redescription of Paraleptus chiloscyllii Yin et Zhang, 1983 (Nematoda: Physalopteridae) from the Arabian carpetshark Chiloscyllium arabicum (Chondrichthyes: Hemiscylliidae) off Iraq
  28. A New Species of Ligophorus (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) from the gills of the Flathead Mullet Mugil cephalus (Teleostei: Mugilidae) from Mexico
  29. Demodex mites as potential etiological factor in chalazion – a study in Poland
  30. First report of Schulzia travassosi (Nematoda, Trichostrongylina, Molineoidea) for amphibians of the Chaco region in Argentina and proposal of Oswaldocruzia melanostictusi nov. comb.
  31. First molecular identification of Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa in its first intermediate host the mud snail Heleobia australis
  32. Dog’s genotype of Giardia duodenalis in human: first evidence in Europe
Downloaded on 24.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ap-2015-0112/pdf
Scroll to top button