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Verocai GG, Hoberg EP, Simard M, Beckmen KB, Musiani M, Wasser S, Cuyler C, Manseau M, Chaudhry UN, Kashivakura CK, Gilleard JS, Kutz SJ. The biogeography of the caribou lungworm, Varestrongylus eleguneniensis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) across northern North America. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2020; 11:93-102. [PMID: 31970056 PMCID: PMC6965202 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 01/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Varestrongylus eleguneniensis (Nematoda; Protostrongylidae) is a recently described species of lungworm that infects caribou (Rangifer tarandus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and moose (Alces americanus) across northern North America. Herein we explore the geographic distribution of V. eleguneniensis through geographically extensive sampling and discuss the biogeography of this multi-host parasite. We analyzed fecal samples of three caribou subspecies (n = 1485), two muskox subspecies (n = 159), and two moose subspecies (n = 264) from across northern North America. Protostrongylid dorsal-spined larvae (DSL) were found in 23.8%, 73.6%, and 4.2% of these ungulates, respectively. A portion of recovered DSL were identified by genetic analyses of the ITS-2 region of the nuclear rDNA or the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) region of the mtDNA. We found V. eleguneniensis widely distributed among caribou and muskox populations across most of their geographic prange in North America but it was rare in moose. Parelaphostrongylus andersoni was present in caribou and moose and we provide new geographic records for this species. This study provides a substantial expansion of the knowledge defining the current distribution and biogeography of protostrongylid nematodes in northern ungulates. Insights about the host and geographic range of V. eleguneniensis can serve as a geographically extensive baseline for monitoring current distribution and in anticipating future biogeographic scenarios under a regime of accelerating climate and anthropogenic perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme G Verocai
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada.,Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Eric P Hoberg
- Museum of Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, USA
| | | | - Kimberlee B Beckmen
- Division of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Marco Musiani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Sam Wasser
- Center for Conservation Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Christine Cuyler
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Department of Mammals & Birds, DK-3900, Nuuk, Greenland
| | - Micheline Manseau
- Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3T 2M6
| | - Umer N Chaudhry
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Cyntia K Kashivakura
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - John S Gilleard
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Susan J Kutz
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
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Verocai GG, Nelson KJ, Callahan RT, Wekesa JW, Hassan HK, Hoberg EP. A cryptic species of Onchocerca (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) in blackflies (Simulium spp.) from southern California, USA. Parasit Vectors 2018; 11:547. [PMID: 30326946 PMCID: PMC6192150 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-3133-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Entomological surveillance for pathogens based on molecular screening of putative arthropod vectors such as blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) is becoming increasingly important. Surveillance provides a means to understand host and geographical patterns of underestimated biodiversity among North American species of Onchocerca and a pathway to identify and track expanding emergence of the zoonotic Onchocerca lupi. Herein, we have screened two blackfly species, Simulium tescorum and Simulium vittatum (s.l.), from Los Angeles County, southern California, USA for DNA of filarioid nematodes to better understand species richness and limits within the genus Onchocerca. Methods A total of 1056 and 378 female blackflies was collected using CO2-baited mosquito traps from March to November of 2015 and 2016, respectively. All blackflies during 2015 were individually processed for DNA extraction and PCR targeting of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Specimens of S. tescorum collected in 2016 were processed individually with heads and bodies extracted separately, whereas those of S. vittatum (s.l.) were processed in pooled samples with heads and bodies extracted separately. A subset of filarioid-positive samples from 2015 and all samples from 2016 were screened using a PCR targeting the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad5) gene (mtDNA). Results In 2015, 356 S. tescorum (33.7%) and 683 S. vittatum (s.l.) (64.7%) were collected, and an additional 17 specimens were not assessed morphologically. In 2016, a total of 378 blackflies was collected. Of these, 43 (11.6%) were S. tescorum and 327 (88.4%) were S. vittatum (s.l.), and an additional 8 specimens were not assessed morphologically. In 2015, Onchocerca sequences were detected in 4.8% (n = 17) of S. tescorum samples, and only one S. vittatum (0.15%). In 2016, only a single S. vittatum pool was positive for the same cryptic Onchocerca species. In phylogenetic comparisons based on nad5, the Onchocerca sequences from California formed a clade with those isolates in white-tailed deer from upstate New York, suggesting these belong to a single widespread cryptic species. Conclusions An uncharacterized species of Onchocerca associated with cervid hosts was found in blackflies from southern California. Sequence data demonstrated it is likely conspecific with an unnamed species of Onchocerca previously found in white-tailed deer from upstate New York. Current data support recognition of a broad geographical distribution across North America for an apparently cryptic species of Onchocerca that is discrete from O. cervipedis, considered to be a typical filarioid among cervids. Our data suggest that this cryptic species of Onchocerca may infect subspecies of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and mule and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus) at temporal latitudes. The blackflies Simulium tescorum and S. vittatum (s.l.) (presumably, S. tribulatum) are putative vectors. Discovery of a cryptic complex indicates that species diversity and putative associations for definitive hosts and vectors of Onchocerca species in North America must be reassessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme G Verocai
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 501 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA. .,Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
| | - Kimberly J Nelson
- San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, 1145 N. Azusa Canyon Rd, West Covina, CA, 91790, USA
| | - R Trey Callahan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 501 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Joseph Wakoli Wekesa
- Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, 43420 Trader Place, Indio, CA, 92201, USA
| | - Hassan K Hassan
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Eric P Hoberg
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
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