scholarly journals Evidence for Unknown Sarcocystis-Like Infection in Stranded Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Ligurian Sea, Italy

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1201
Author(s):  
Federica Giorda ◽  
Umberto Romani-Cremaschi ◽  
Antoinette E. Marsh ◽  
Carla Grattarola ◽  
Barbara Iulini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Positive Staining ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Sarcocystis Neurona ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Polyclonal Antisera ◽  
Ligurian Coast ◽  
Sarcocystis Falcatula ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Two striped dolphins (SD1, SD2), stranded along the Ligurian coast of Italy, were diagnosed with a nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis associated with previously undescribed protozoan tissue cysts. As tissue cysts were morphologically different from those of Toxoplasma gondii, additional histopathological, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and biomolecular investigations were performed, aiming to fully characterize the organism. Histopathology revealed the presence of large Sarcocystis-like tissue cysts, associated with limited inflammatory lesions in all CNS areas studied. IHC was inconclusive, as positive staining with polyclonal antisera did not preclude cross-reaction with other Sarcocystidae coccidia. Applied to each animal, 11 different PCR protocols precluded a neural infection by Sarcocystis neurona, Sarcocystis falcatula, Hammondia hammondi, and Neospora caninum. T. gondii coinfection was confirmed only in dolphin SD2. Sarcocystis sp. sequences, showing the highest homology to species infecting the Bovidae family, were amplified from SD1 myocardium and SD2 skeletal muscle. The present study represents the first report of Sarcocystis-like tissue cysts in the brain of stranded cetaceans along with the first description of Sarcocystis sp. infection in muscle tissue of dolphins from the Mediterranean basin.

Food of striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, in the Ligurian Sea

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Würtz ◽  
D. Marrale
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Bony Fishes ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Ligurian Coast

The stomachsof 23 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833, Cetacea), stranded along the Ligurian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), contained 32 species of cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes, totalling an estimated 2,723 prey specimens representing about 36 kg in weight. Cephalopods and bony fishes were equally important in the diet (50%). Todarodes sagittatus (34.5%) and Micromesistius poutassou (25.9%) were found to be the most important food species. Other species belonging to six cephalopod families, three crustacean families and nine bony fish families, contributed to the diet with variable numbers, weights, and occurrences, demonstrating the opportunistic character of striped dolphin feeding.

scholarly journals Molecular evidence for Toxoplasma gondii in the brain of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded along the Ligurian Sea coast of Italy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Traversa ◽  
Angela Di Cesare ◽  
Cristina Casalone ◽  
Barbara Iulini ◽  
Walter Mignone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Sea Coast

scholarly journals Molecular phylogeny of Toxoplasmatinae: comparison between inferences based on mitochondrial and apicoplast genetic sequences

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Klein Sercundes ◽  
Samantha Yuri Oshiro Branco Valadas ◽  
Lara Borges Keid ◽  
Tricia Maria Ferreira Souza Oliveira ◽  
Helena Lage Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Mitochondrial Genes ◽  
Sarcocystis Neurona ◽  
Gene Coding ◽  
The Family ◽  
Caseinolytic Protease ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Genetic Sequences ◽  
Sarcocystis Falcatula

Abstract Phylogenies within Toxoplasmatinae have been widely investigated with different molecular markers. Here, we studied molecular phylogenies of the Toxoplasmatinae subfamily based on apicoplast and mitochondrial genes. Partial sequences of apicoplast genes coding for caseinolytic protease (clpC) and beta subunit of RNA polymerase (rpoB), and mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome B (cytB) were analyzed. Laboratory-adapted strains of the closely related parasites Sarcocystis falcatula and Sarcocystis neurona were investigated, along with Neospora caninum, Neospora hughesi, Toxoplasma gondii (strains RH, CTG and PTG), Besnoitia akodoni, Hammondia hammondiand two genetically divergent lineages of Hammondia heydorni. The molecular analysis based on organellar genes did not clearly differentiate between N. caninum and N. hughesi, but the two lineages of H. heydorni were confirmed. Slight differences between the strains of S. falcatula and S. neurona were encountered in all markers. In conclusion, congruent phylogenies were inferred from the three different genes and they might be used for screening undescribed sarcocystid parasites in order to ascertain their phylogenetic relationships with organisms of the family Sarcocystidae. The evolutionary studies based on organelar genes confirm that the genusHammondia is paraphyletic. The primers used for amplification of clpC and rpoB were able to amplify genetic sequences of organisms of the genus Sarcocystisand organisms of the subfamily Toxoplasmatinae as well.

Isolation of Neospora caninum From the Brain of a Pregnant Sheep

2001 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 1486-1488 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Koyama ◽  
Y. Kobayashi ◽  
Y. Omata ◽  
M. Yamada ◽  
H. Furuoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Pregnant Sheep ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Experimental Neosporosis in Pregnant Ewes and Their Offspring

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. McAllister ◽  
A. M. McGuire ◽  
W. R. Jolley ◽  
D. S. Lindsay ◽  
A. J. Trees ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Pathological Features ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Inoculum Dose ◽  
Bovine Neosporosis ◽  
Cerebral Necrosis ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Caninum Tachyzoites ◽  
Clinical And Pathological Features

Six groups of six pregnant ewes each were inoculated with 170,000 or 1,700,000 tachyzoites of Neospora caninum on gestation day 65, 90, or 120. All ewes seroconverted, and none showed signs of illness other than abortion. Regardless of the inoculum dose, all ewes inoculated on gestation day 65 aborted: ewes inoculated on gestation day 90 aborted, gave birth to weak lambs, or gave birth to clinically normal lambs; and all ewes inoculated on gestation day 120 gave birth to clinically normal lambs. Using an immunohistological procedure that stains bradyzoites, we observed protozoal cysts in brains of 11 of 29 (38%) aborted fetuses, in one of four (25%) weak lambs, and in seven of 18 (39%) clinically normal lambs. Cysts were not observed in extraneural tissues from two clinically normal lambs that had cysts in the brain. No evidence of infection was observed in tissues of five ewes examined using an immunohistological procedure that stains N. caninum tachyzoites and bradyzoites. Multifocal nonsuppurative encephalitis was observed in 46 of 51 (90%) aborted, weak, or clinically normal lambs. Cerebral necrosis, dystrophic mineralization, and meningitis were also commonly identified in live and aborted lambs (even when severely autolyzed). Nonsuppurative, necrotizing placentitis was observed in 15 of 17 (88%) placentas. Nonsuppurative myositis was common in fetuses but not in live lambs. Inflammation occurred less frequently in liver and lung. Clinical and pathological features of neosporosis in sheep closely resemble those of bovine neosporosis and ovine toxoplasmosis. Although abortion caused by naturally occurring neosporosis in sheep has not been reported, diagnosticians should carefully distinguish between neosporosis and toxoplasmosis in cases of ovine protozoal abortion unless future investigations exclude the likelihood of naturally acquired neosporosis in sheep.

Neosporosis-Like Abortions in a Herd of Dairy Cattle

1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Thilsted ◽  
J. P. Dubey
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Hepatic Necrosis ◽  
North Central ◽  
Fetal Tissues ◽  
The Brain

Twenty-nine cows from a 240-cow drylot Holstein dairy in north-central New Mexico aborted over a period of approximately 5 months. Nine aborted fetuses were necropsied, and all but 1 of the fetuses were between 5 and 7 months of gestation. Microscopic examination of fetal tissues revealed focal necrotizing encephalitis and nonsuppurative myocarditis in 7 of the 9 fetuses. Additional lesions observed in some fetuses were focal hepatic necrosis, nonsuppurative myositis, focal necrotizing placentitis, focal nonsuppurative pneumonia, and focal nonsuppurative nephritis. A few groups of Neospora caninum -like protozoan organisms were observed adjacent to necrotic foci in the brain of 2 fetuses and in the kidney of a third fetus. No other cause of abortion was detected.

Cutaneous Manifestations of Disseminated Toxoplasmosis in an Immunosuppressed Dog

2005 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinelle A. Webb ◽  
Sonya L. Keller ◽  
Erin P. Southorn ◽  
Julie Armstrong ◽  
Dana G. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Hemolytic Anemia ◽  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Polyclonal Antibodies ◽  
Postmortem Examination ◽  
Sarcocystis Neurona ◽  
Cutaneous Manifestations ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Time Of Presentation

A 3.5-year-old, castrated male, giant schnauzer was presented with alopecic pustular dermatitis. Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia had been diagnosed 45 days previously. At the time of presentation, the dog was receiving prednisone, azathioprine, and cyclosporine. Cutaneous protozoosis was diagnosed, and postmortem examination revealed protozoa within cutaneous, cardiac, pancreatic, and pulmonary tissues. The protozoa divided by endodyogeny, had the morphology of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) tachyzoites, and stained positively with T. gondii polyclonal antibodies but not with antibodies to Neospora caninum or Sarcocystis neurona. Immunosuppression may have predisposed this dog to disseminated toxoplasmosis.

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