Rodents as intermediate hosts of cestode parasites of mammalian carnivores and birds of prey in Poland, with the first data on the life-cycle of Mesocestoides melesi

Abstract

Background: Rodents constitute an important part of the diet of many carnivore species. This predator-prey food chain is exploited by helminth parasites, such as cestodes, whose larval stages develop in rodents and then mature to the adult stage in predators. The main aim of our study was to use molecular techniques for identification of cestode species recovered from both intermediate and definitive hosts, with a particular focus on the genus Mesocestoides. Methods: Larval cestodes were obtained during our long-term studies on rodent helminth communities in the Mazury Lake District in the northeast Poland in 2000-2018. Cestode larvae/cysts were collected from body cavities or internal organs (e.g. liver) during autopsies. Adult tapeworms were derived from nine red foxes, three Eurasian badgers and one Eurasian lynx. PCR amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were conducted employing three genetic markers: 18S rDNA, mitochondrial (mt) 12S rDNA and the mt cytochrome c oxydase subunit 1 (cox1) gene fragment. Results: Altogether 19 Mesocestoides samples were analyzed, including 13 adult tapeworms from definitive hosts and six larval samples from 4 bank voles and 2 yellow-necked mice. Phylogenetic analyses revealed three well-supported trees of similar topology. In each case the Mesocestoides samples formed two separate clades. All isolates from foxes, the lynx isolate and two isolates from rodents grouped with Mesocestoides litteratus. Four isolates from rodents and all three isolates from Eurasian badgers were resolved in a separate clade, most similar to North American M. vogae (syn. M. corti). Examination of fixed, stained adult specimens from Eurasian badgers revealed consistency with the morphology of Mesocestoides melesi. Therefore, this clade is likely to represent M. melesi, a species first described in 1985 from the Eurasian badger Meles meles. Molecular analysis allowed also the identification of Taenia crassiceps, Hydatigera kamiyai and Cladotaenia globifera among larvae derived from rodents.

A parasitological survey of zoonotic cestodes carried by house rats in Aswan, Egypt, reveals cryptic diversity at the molecular level

“…The current study confirms that rodents pose a parasitic threat to both human [46,47] and veterinary [48] health, and corroborates Dyab's report [49] that some rodent-borne parasites were detected in Aswan schoolchildren, including 3% H. nana infection.…”

Distribution of Parasitic Helminths in the Small Intestine of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

“…However, there are areas in Europe where these tapeworms in foxes are found very rarely or not at all [ 1 , 17 , 18 ]. Genetic analysis of Mesocestoides isolated in Poland [ 39 , 40 ] allowed us to assume that tapeworms detected in our study mostly belonged to the Mesocestoides litteratus species.…”

Morphological and molecular analyses of Taenia and Mesocestoides species from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in northwestern China

“…litteratus and Mesocestoides spp. were found in red foxes in Portugal, Romania, Denmark, Slovak Republic, Tunisia, Italy, Poland and Mongolia ( Bajer et al, 2020 ; Barabási et al, 2010 ; Saeed et al, 2006 ; Fiocchi et al, 2016 ; Varcasia et al, 2018 ). Hitherto only M .…”

“…Tapeworms (cestodes) have a domestic or sylvatic life cycle between definitive hosts and intermediate hosts ( Thompson, 2013 ). Previously, the red fox was reported to harbor many species of cyclophyllidean cestodes, such as Taenia taeniaeformis , Taenia pisiformis , Taenia polyacantha , Taenia hydatigena , Taenia multiceps , Taenia serialis , Taenia crassiceps , Taenia ovis , Echinococcus multilocularis , Echinococcus granulosus , Echinococcus shiquicus , Mesocestoides lineatus , Mesocestoides litteratus and Mesocestoides corti ( Abuladze, 1964 , Eira et al, 2006 , Barabási et al, 2010 , Varcasia et al, 2015 , Hofer et al, 2000 , Laurimaa et al, 2016 , Dybing et al, 2013 , Franssen et al, 2014 , Karamon et al, 2018 , Borgsteede, 1984 , Morishima et al, 1999 , Petersen et al, 2018 , Fiocchi et al, 2016 , Brochier et al, 2007 , Hanosset et al, 2008 , Lahmar et al, 2014 , Rataj et al, 2010 , Romig et al, 2006 , Wright, 2013 , Dibble et al, 1983 , Loos-frank, 1987 , Jiang et al, 2012 , Zhang et al, 2021 , Li et al, 2013 , Bajer et al, 2020 ).…”