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BackgroundTypically, carnivores serve as definitive hosts for Sarcocystis spp. parasites; currently, their role as intermediate hosts is being elucidated. The present study aimed to identify and molecularly characterize Sarcocystis cysts detected in striated muscle of red foxes from different populations in Latvia, Lithuania and Spain.MethodsMuscle samples from 411 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and 269 racoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) from Latvia, 41 red foxes from Lithuania and 22 red foxes from Spain were examined for the presence of Sarcocystis sarcocysts by light microscopy (LM). Sarcocystis spp. were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and molecular biology techniques.ResultsSarcocystis cysts were detected in 11/411 (2.7%) Latvian, 3/41 (7.3%) Lithuanian, and 6/22 (27.3%) Spanish red foxes, however, cysts were not observed in the muscles of racoon dogs. Based on LM, TEM, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS1, cox1 and rpoB sequences, Sarcocystis arctica and Sarcocystis lutrae cysts were identified in red fox muscles from Latvia and Lithuania, whereas only S. arctica was detected in Spain. The 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and ITS1 sequences from the 21 isolates of S. arctica from Latvia, Lithuania and Spain were identical. By contrast, two and four haplotypes were determined based on mtDNA cox1 and apicoplast rpoB sequences, respectively. Polymorphisms were not detected between the two isolates of S. lutrae from Latvia and Lithuania. Based on phylogenetic results, S. arctica and S. lutrae were most closely related to Sarcocystis spp. using predatory mammals as intermediate hosts and to Sarcocystis species with a bird-bird life-cycle.ConclusionsBased on current knowledge, the red fox and Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) could act as intermediate host for the same two Sarcocystis species. Molecular results suggest the existence of two genetic lineages of S. arctica, and such divergence relies on its geographical distribution but not on their intermediate host species.

The occurrence and molecular diversity of the stramenopile eukaryote Blastocystis sp. was investigated by PCR and sequencing (Sanger and NGS) methods in 380 faecal specimens of free‐living carnivores in Spain. Blastocystis sp. was confirmed in 1.6% (6/380) of the specimens analysed. Two samples from a common genet and a fox were successfully subtyped as ST7 by Sanger. Using NGS, ST14 was found in a fox and a European polecat, ST7 in a fox, and two additional foxes presented mixed infections of ST1/ST2/ST4 and ST1/ST2/ST7, respectively. Wild carnivore species could act as carriers of zoonotic Blastocystis subtypes.

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Deer antlers are costly structures subjected to directional sexual selection that may be sensitive to heterozygosity. However, a relationship between heterozygosity and antler development has only been found for select protein-coding loci and MHC genes in one deer species (the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus). Here, we study the relationship between multilocus heterozygosity at 11 microsatellite markers and antler size (AS) in a sample of 367 Iberian red deer males (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) from two study areas with different ecological and genetic conditions. We found that males with very small antlers (10% of the sampled individuals with the lowest values of AS) had lower levels of heterozygosity than those with bigger antlers (significant effect in an analysis of variance, P = 0.011). This relationship was noticeable mainly in situations of low genetic diversity, where the differences in heterozygosity between groups of males were greater. Finally, we conducted analyses to address the hypotheses proposed by the heterozygosity-fitness correlation, and we found the local effect as the most likely hypothesis. Our findings reveal an expected but not previously detected association between low heterozygosity and reduced AS, with implications for red deer evolution and management.

Beginning with a description of the conventional Giemsa-stained karyotype of the tench (Tinea tinea L.), the structure and variability of the chromosomal heterochromatic regions in this cyprinid species were analyzed by means of C-, silver-, and restriction endonuclease banding. Silver staining revealed active nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) on the secondary constriction of chromosome pair 3. Constitutive heterochromatin was associated with NOR regions detected by C-banding. Restriction endonuclease digestion with AluI, TaqI, and HaeIII induced specific banding patterns that allowed identification of homologous chromosome pairs and revealed features about the sequence composition of several chromosomal heterochromatic regions and of the NOR-associated heterochromatin.