International journal for parasitology最新文献

{"title":"Updates on subgenus Ixodes in the Mediterranean region: validity of Ixodes festai Rondelli, 1926, reinstatement of Ixodes tatei Arthur, 1959, and a new species closely related to Ixodes gibbosus Nuttall, 1916.","authors":"Sándor Hornok, Adem Keskin, Igor Uspensky, Jenő Kontschán, Nóra Takács, Paulina Lesiczka, Tim Warbroek, Tijs J M van den Bosch, Gergő Keve, Andor Pitó, Attila D Sándor","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The southern part of Europe is one of the most species-rich regions from the point of view of the genus and subgenus Ixodes. However, numerous unresolved or questionably interpreted issues exist in the context of tick species indigenous to Mediterranean countries, such as the validity of Ixodes festai, synonymy of Ixodes tatei with Ixodes eldaricus (never tested molecularly) or the haplotype heterogeneity of Ixodes gibbosus. In this study, 21 specimens of six tick species from the subgenus Ixodes were compared morphologically with high resolution digital microscopy and also analyzed with molecular-phylogenetic methods based on two mitochondrial genetic markers. The nymphs of I. eldaricus and I. tatei showed differences in the morphology of the scutum and basis capituli. Both the nymph and the females of I. festai could be distinguished from those of I. eldaricus, I. ventalloi and I. acuminatus. A female tick resembled I. gibbosus but was also different from this species, based on its descriptions. Analysis of phylogenetic relationships confirmed with moderate to strong support that all six species examined in this study represent different taxa of the subgenus Ixodes, including a previously unknown sister species to I. gibbosus. The latter is recognized and described here as a new species, Ixodes paragibbosus Hornok and Kontschán, sp. nov. Based on findings of this study, the tick species I. tatei Arthur, 1959 should be resurrected and reestablished. Morphological and phylogenetic comparisons performed here (including the first barcoding sequences of I. eldaricus and I. festai) confirm that the latter is a valid species, distinct from both I. eldaricus and I. ventalloi. For the differential diagnosis of the above species, the results highlight the importance of observing (among other structures) the auriculae, the internal spur of coxa I and the hypostome.</p>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145113039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are there 16 species of brown dog ticks? Phylogenies from 60 entire mitochondrial genomes and 162 cox1 sequences reveal 16 species-level clades in the Rhipicephalus (Rhipicephalus) sanguineus group☆☆","authors":"Samuel Kelava ,&nbsp;Ryo Nakao ,&nbsp;Ben J. Mans ,&nbsp;Mingeun Cho ,&nbsp;Kynan B.T. Mateo ,&nbsp;Dmitry A. Apanaskevich ,&nbsp;Renfu Shao ,&nbsp;Alexander W. Gofton ,&nbsp;Ernest J.M. Teo ,&nbsp;Takuya Ito ,&nbsp;Dayana Barker ,&nbsp;Stephen C. Barker","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.016","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; group, the brown dog ticks, are cosmopolitan and doubtless the most important ticks of domestic dogs, clinically and economically. Despite four decades of taxonomic enquiry with nucleotide sequences and morphology, the taxonomy of the &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; group is confused, even chaotic. We provide 13 new mitochondrial (mt) genomes and internal transcribed spacer 2 (&lt;em&gt;ITS2&lt;/em&gt;) sequences from nine localities in Australia, Israel and Japan. We inferred phylogenetic trees from 10 mt protein-coding genes (9,514 bp), as well as partial &lt;em&gt;cox1&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;ITS2,&lt;/em&gt; 12S, and 16S rRNA genes, to resolve to common clades the &gt;2,000 nucleotide sequences in GenBank from the &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; group. Then we applied three species delimitation protocols to 60 entire mt genomes (ca. 15,000 bp) and 162 partial &lt;em&gt;cox1&lt;/em&gt; sequences (472 bp): Automatic Barcode Gap discovery, Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning, and Poisson Tree Process. We considered pairwise genetic differences and Tamura-Nei genetic distances among 60 entire mt genomes and 162 partial &lt;em&gt;cox1&lt;/em&gt; sequences. We found 16 species-level clades (clades A to P) that we hypothesise represent at least 16 species in the &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; group. These clades had intra-clade differences of &lt;3.8% (entire mt genomes) and &lt;5.1% (partial &lt;em&gt;cox1&lt;/em&gt;) whereas the inter-clade differences were &gt;7.7% (entire mt genomes) and &gt;4.5% (partial &lt;em&gt;cox1&lt;/em&gt;). We assigned the species names &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus linnaei&lt;/em&gt; (Audouin, 1826), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus rutilus&lt;/em&gt; (Koch, 1844), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus secundus&lt;/em&gt; (Feldman-Muhsam, 1952) and &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; (Latreille, 1806) to clades A, C, D, and K, respectively. And we hypothesise that the names &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus camicasi&lt;/em&gt; (Morel, Mouchet &amp; Rodhain, 1976), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus turanicus&lt;/em&gt; (Pomerantsev, 1940), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus guilhoni&lt;/em&gt; (Morel &amp; Vassilades, 1963), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus sulcatus&lt;/em&gt; (Neumann, 1908), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus rossicus&lt;/em&gt; (Yakimov &amp; Kol-Yakimova, 1911), &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus pumilio&lt;/em&gt; (Schulze, 1935) and &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus pusillus&lt;/em&gt; (Gil Collado, 1936) apply to clades B, E, H, J, M, N and O, respectively. The newly described &lt;em&gt;Rhipicephalus hibericus&lt;/em&gt; (Millán, Rodriguez-Pastor &amp; Estrada-Peña, 2024) was genetically indistinguishable from &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; in clade K and thus is a synonym of &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt;. We could not assign names to clades F (USA, Hungary), I (India, Pakistan), L (Nigeria), G (China, Kazakhstan), and P (Cameroon): some or all of these five clades may be new species in the &lt;em&gt;R. sanguineus&lt;/em&gt; group. Our haplotype network of partial mt genes (&lt;em&gt;cox1, cytb&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;nad2&lt;/em&gt;) revealed much genetic similarity among geographically distant populations of &lt;em&gt;R. linnaei&lt;/em&gt;. This indicates recent dispersal, likely originating in Africa or the Middle East, since African populations were ","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 11","pages":"Pages 581-594"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143982241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zoonotic Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato genotypes G6 and G7: new insights from the global mitogenome analysis","authors":"Anti Biedermann ,&nbsp;Teivi Laurimäe ,&nbsp;Liina Anijalg ,&nbsp;Laura Kamenetzky ,&nbsp;Silvia V. Soriano ,&nbsp;Nora Pierangeli ,&nbsp;Lorena E. Lazzarini ,&nbsp;Gérald Umhang ,&nbsp;Bolor Bold ,&nbsp;Chimedtseren Bayasgalan ,&nbsp;Jacek Karamon ,&nbsp;Małgorzata Samorek-Pieróg ,&nbsp;Sami Simsek ,&nbsp;Figen Celik ,&nbsp;Majid F. Harandi ,&nbsp;Saeid Nasibi ,&nbsp;Naunain Mehmood ,&nbsp;Oleg Chihai ,&nbsp;Adriano Casulli ,&nbsp;Urmas Saarma","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cystic echinococcosis is a severe zoonotic disease caused by different species and genotypes belonging to the <em>Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato</em> (<em>s.l.</em>) complex. Among these, genotypes G6 and G7 are the second most common cause of human cystic echinococcosis. One of the very first steps towards understanding the epidemiology of G6 and G7 is to study their genetic and host diversity, population structure and phylogenetic relationships. For this, we sequenced near-complete mitochondrial genomes (12,850–12,856 bp) of 72 new G6 and G7 samples from eight countries and six host species, including humans. By adding 103 sequences from previous studies, the total dataset for further analyses comprised of 175 sequences from 20 countries and seven host species. This is the most comprehensive global mitogenome study of <em>Echinococcus granulosus s.l.</em> G6 and G7 to date. The results of this work revealed: (i) a new divergent haplogroup G6b from Mongolia; (ii) the subdivision of genotype G6 into two major haplogroups: G6a (the nominal haplogroup) and G6b (the Mongolian haplogroup); (iii) highly divergent haplotypes of G6 and G7; (iv) the first molecularly confirmed findings of genotype G7 in camel; (v) genotype G7 in sheep – a rare species for G7; (vi) the importance of using long DNA sequences in phylogenetic analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 11","pages":"Pages 569-579"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144021943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alba protein-mediated gene and protein regulation in protozoan parasites","authors":"Meghan E. Zadow ,&nbsp;Christopher A. MacRaild ,&nbsp;Darren J. Creek ,&nbsp;Danny W. Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The success of protozoan parasites relies heavily on regulation of gene and protein expression to facilitate their persistence in harsh and often changing environments. These parasites display biology that is highly divergent from model eukaryotes, unfortunately leaving our understanding of these parasites’ critical regulatory mechanisms incomplete. Alba proteins, a highly diverse group of DNA/RNA-binding proteins, are found across all domains of life and it has become increasingly apparent that these proteins play key regulatory roles in many protozoan parasite species including <em>Plasmodium, Leishmania, Toxoplasma,</em> and <em>Trypanosoma</em>. This review focusses on a subset of clinically relevant protozoan parasites and highlights the key biological processes known to have Alba protein involvement in these organisms including parasite development, survival, and virulence. In order to gain greater insight into these proteins, we also undertook a bioinformatic exploration of their protein sequences, leading us to identify previously unreported C-terminal Alba domain motifs and propose annotations for several currently unannotated protozoan Alba-like proteins. This collation of information allows us to observe common themes in Alba protein function across this group of parasites while also identifying areas of opportunity for further study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 11","pages":"Pages 557-568"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143970551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identifying antimalarials that disrupt malaria parasite transmission when fed to the mosquito","authors":"Sarah N. Farrell ,&nbsp;Anton Cozijnsen ,&nbsp;Vanessa Mollard ,&nbsp;Papireddy Kancharla ,&nbsp;Rozalia A. Dodean ,&nbsp;Jane X. Kelly ,&nbsp;Geoffrey I. McFadden ,&nbsp;Christopher D. Goodman","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.05.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.05.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A decade-long decline in malaria cases has plateaued, primarily due to parasite drug resistance and mosquito resistance to insecticides used in bed nets and indoor residual spraying. Here, we explore the innovative control strategy targeting <em>Plasmodium</em> with antimalarials during the mosquito stages. This strategy has the potential to reduce the risk of resistance emerging because a relatively small population of parasites within the mosquito is subject to selection. After validating mosquito feeding strategies, we screened a range of parasiticidal compounds by feeding them to mosquitoes already infected with mouse malaria (<em>P. berghei</em>). Three antimalarials showed activity against <em>P. berghei</em> in mosquitoes, apparently targeting specific stages of <em>P. berghei</em> development during transmission. Borrelidin, a threonyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor, significantly reduced <em>P. berghei</em> sporozoite numbers. Azithromycin, an antibiotic targeting apicoplast protein synthesis, significantly lowered sporozoite infectivity in mice. T111, a next generation compound targeting the parasite electron transport chain, reduced sporozoite numbers in <em>P. berghei</em> at equivalent concentrations to the gold standard electron transport chain inhibitor, atovaquone. T111 also prevented sporozoite production in mosquitoes infected with human malaria, <em>P. falciparum,</em> even after very short exposure times. Encouragingly, T111 remained efficacious after being freeze-dried onto a substrate and later reconstituted with water, suggesting this compound would be effective in easy-to-distribute-and-deploy transmission control devices. Our findings suggest that several antimalarials can be used to target mosquito-stage parasites via sugar baits and limit malaria transmission. Importantly, mosquito feeding of antimalarials could vastly increase the range of potentially useful parasiticidal compounds to include those failing to meet the exacting standards required for human antimalarial drugs, potentially improving malaria control for minimal cost.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 11","pages":"Pages 603-613"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144191757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microinvertebrate consumption rates of Fasciola hepatica miracidia are not affected by alternate food","authors":"Daniel McDowell ,&nbsp;Sarah E. Perkins ,&nbsp;Frank Van Veen ,&nbsp;Joanne Lello","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.05.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The liver fluke (<em>Fasciola hepatica</em>) is a significant parasite of the global livestock industry, leading to negative economic and animal welfare impacts. Control of <em>F. hepatica</em> is becoming increasingly difficult as many liver fluke populations are developing resistance to commonly used anthelmintics. Additional or alternate control methods are, therefore, required. Microinvertebrates such as those of the order Cyclopoida and subclass Ostracoda are common organisms found in the same aquatic habitats as <em>F. hepatica</em>’s intermediate snail host. We explore whether these microinvertebrates are effective predators of <em>F. hepatica</em> miracidia. We experimentally determined a) the consumption rates of miracidia by the two microinvertebrate groups, b) the form of functional feeding response displayed by each and c) whether inclusion of an alternate food source altered miracidial predation patterns. We find that cyclopoids and ostracods feed on miracidia and that where a statistically supported fit was found, the functional feeding response for both microinvertebrates was type II. Further, miracidial consumption by either microinvertebrate did not decline significantly in the presence of alternate prey. Our results suggest that cyclopoids and ostracods are both effective predators of <em>F. hepatica</em> and therefore have the potential as <em>F. hepatica</em> biocontrol agents. An important next step will be to explore what impact such predation has on the infection dynamics of the adult fluke in the definitive host.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 11","pages":"Pages 595-601"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144191758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In the face of fear: the success of encounters between digenean cercariae and an intermediate target host under predation pressure","authors":"Anna Stanicka ,&nbsp;Zuzanna Dlouhy ,&nbsp;Anna Cichy ,&nbsp;Elżbieta Żbikowska ,&nbsp;Łukasz Jermacz","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predation is one of the most potent factors shaping relationships between organisms with different trophic levels. The interaction is an evolutionary arms race, where early detection of the other side often holds the key to success. Preying on the free-living parasite larvae is a valid and underestimated factor affecting parasite infection dynamics. Our study aimed to investigate whether often dominant invertebrates in aquatic ecosystems, gammarids, induce a significant reduction in host-parasite encounters, taking into account the influence of the presence of additional chemical signals from top predators (fish) and the parasite prey “age” on the possible dilution effect. The study is based on a model involving representatives of native (<em>Gammarus jazdzewskii</em>) and invasive (<em>Pontogammarus robustoides</em>) gammarids as consumers and two species of free-living parasite larvae, echinostome cercariae (<em>Echinoparyphium aconiatum</em> and <em>Molinella anceps</em>), as prey. The invasive gammarid species modified <em>E. aconiatum</em> success more significantly than the native one. However, a dilution effect was detected exclusively for <em>P. robustoides</em>, utilising freshly released cercariae and the absence of additional stressors (fish kairomones in the water). In contrast, the presence of both gammarid species usually significantly reduced the success of parasite transmission. The presence of fish cues or the differences in the post-emergence “age” of cercariae only affected treatments with the invasive <em>P. robustoides</em>. Our results suggest that the strength of predation’s impact on the cercarial dilution effect can be modelled depending on the attractiveness of the prey. Additionally, this study potentially provides the first evidence of the influence of “enemy scent” on the strategy adopted by free-living larval trematodes, where a trade-off between cercarial age and anti-predator strategy was observed. Moreover, the study discusses how investigations conducted solely using freshly released cercariae may provide an incomplete or distorted picture of what is happening in the environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 547-555"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144006545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phylogenetic characterization of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium in Japan: implications for the enigmatic evolutionary history","authors":"Naoki Hayashi ,&nbsp;Ryo Kuwamoto ,&nbsp;Mitsuhiro Okada ,&nbsp;Kenta Suzuki ,&nbsp;Takaya Hoketsu ,&nbsp;Samuel Kelava ,&nbsp;Yuma Ohari ,&nbsp;Munehiro Okamoto ,&nbsp;Kinpei Yagi ,&nbsp;Nariaki Nonaka ,&nbsp;Ryo Nakao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Taenia solium</em> is a tapeworm of the family Taeniidae that causes neurocysticercosis, a serious zoonotic disease in humans. Its life cycle involves pigs and wild boars as intermediate hosts and humans as the sole definitive host. Since poor sanitation and free-roaming pigs contribute to maintaining its life cycle, cysticercosis is endemic in developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while local transmission is generally absent in developed countries. However, we unexpectedly identified three cases of cysticercosis in wild boars in Japan between 2014 and 2023. Genetic analyses were performed on six cysticerci collected from two wild boars independently captured in 2023. Phylogenetic analysis using three nuclear DNA markers confirmed that the cysticerci were indeed <em>T. solium</em>. Mitogenome sequencing from these cysticerci yielded six complete mitogenomes, each 13,712 bp in length and identical to each other. Haplotype network analysis using mitochondrial <em>cox1</em> and <em>cob</em> sequences revealed that the cysticerci in Japan possess a haplotype distinct from haplogroups in other endemic regions, i.e., haplogroups in Asia, Africa/America, and Bhutan, indicating that the <em>T. solium</em> population is divided into at least four haplogroups. Subsequent phylogenetic inference from the mitochondrial 12 protein-coding genes demonstrated that the Japanese haplotype diverged from both the Asian and African/American haplogroups before the divergence of these two major haplogroups in the Early to Middle Pleistocene. Our findings indicate that the <em>T. solium</em> life cycle can be maintained in regions generally considered non-endemic, highlighting an overlooked risk of local transmission in developed countries. Furthermore, the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships revealed in this study may provide evidence for revisiting the “Out of Africa” hypothesis for <em>T. solium</em>. Comprehensive mitogenomic analyses based on additional specimens would hold the key to unraveling the evolutionary history of this tapeworm, which currently uses humans as its sole definitive host.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 497-508"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143982248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contrasting effects of body condition on ectoparasite abundance in a social bat: different roles of season and host sex","authors":"Áron Péter ,&nbsp;Boróka Beke ,&nbsp;Zoltán László ,&nbsp;Sándor Hornok ,&nbsp;Attila D. Sándor","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the interplay between host species ecology and parasite dynamics is crucial for comprehending disease transmission patterns, population structures, and ecosystem health. In most host-parasite systems, host body condition is of primary importance in ectoparasite host choice. Bats were considered an exception, as previously several studies suggested that bat ectoparasites showed no or minimal dependence on host body condition. We investigated the relationships between host condition and ectoparasite abundance in multiple populations of European bent-winged bats (<em>Miniopterus schreibersii</em>) and their arthropod ectoparasites (mites, nycteribiid bat flies and ixodid ticks). We found weak correlations between individual host condition and combined ectoparasite abundance, with seasonal fluctuations in both, and a single seasonal peak in parasite abundance. However, when treated individually, single ectoparasite groups showed contrasting answers to changes in body condition. Body condition had a significant positive effect on wing mite abundance and a significant negative effect on the prevalence and intensity of nycteribiid bat flies, overall with no effect on tick infestation. These responses moreover showed also seasonal differences, highly correlating with the life-stages of the two host’s sexes. Our long-term, large-scale study of European bent-winged bats and their arthropod ectoparasites was able to detect major influences exerted by hosts’ body condition on ectoparasites’ host choice. Here we showed that bat populations undergo dynamic changes in their body condition during the active period of their annual cycle, with ectoparasites evolved to differentially exploit peaks or troughs of these changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 537-546"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143997798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GI-NemaTracker – A farm system-level mathematical model to predict the consequences of gastrointestinal parasite control strategies in sheep","authors":"Lee Benson ,&nbsp;Ilias Kyriazakis ,&nbsp;Naomi Fox ,&nbsp;Alison Howell ,&nbsp;Giles T. Innocent ,&nbsp;Fiona Kenyon ,&nbsp;Diana Williams ,&nbsp;David A Ewing","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gastro-intestinal nematode infections are considered one of the major endemic diseases of sheep on the grounds of animal health and economic burden, both in the British Isles and globally. Parasites are increasingly developing resistance to commonly used anthelmintic treatments meaning that alternative control strategies that reduce or replace the use of anthelmintics are required. We present GI-NemaTracker, a systems-level mathematical model of the full host-parasite-environment system governing gastro-intestinal nematode transmission on a sheep farm. The model is based on a series of time-varying delay-differential equations that explicitly capture environmentally-driven time delays in nematode development. By taking a farm systems-level approach we represent both in–host and environmentally-driven free-living parasite dynamics and their interaction with a population of individually modelled lambs with diverse trait parameters assigned at birth. Thus we capture seasonally varying rates of parasite transmission and consequently variable weight gain of individual lambs throughout the season. The model is parameterised for <em>Teladorsagia circumcincta</em>, although the framework described could be applied to a range of nematode parasite species. We validate the model against experimental and field data and apply it to study the efficacy of four different anthelmintic treatment regimes (neo-suppresive treatment, strategic prophylactic treatment, treatment based on faecal egg counts and a regime which leaves <span><math><mrow><mn>10</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></math></span> of the animals untreated) on lamb weight gain and pasture contamination. The model predicts that similar body weights at a flock level can be achieved while reducing the number of treatments administered, thus supporting a health plan that reduces anthelmintic treatments. As the model is capable of combining parasitic and free-living stages of the parasite with host performance, it is well suited to predict complex system responses under non-stationary conditions. The implications of the model and its potential as a tool in the development of sustainable control strategies in sheep are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 509-523"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144013730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}