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Liang Y, Liu YY, Mei JJ, Zheng WB, Liu Q, Gao WW, Zhu XQ, Xie SC. Molecular Identification and Genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp. in Cattle in Representative Areas of Shanxi Province, North China. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2929. [PMID: 37760332 PMCID: PMC10525831 DOI: 10.3390/ani13182929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Both Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp. are common intestinal protozoa, which can cause zoonotic diseases and economic losses to livestock industry. To evaluate the prevalence and genetic population structure of Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp. in beef and dairy cattle in Shanxi Province, north China, a total of 795 fecal samples were collected from beef and dairy cattle in three representative counties in Shanxi Province, and these fecal samples were examined using molecular approaches based on 18S small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) of Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp., respectively. Among 795 cattle fecal samples, 23 were detected as Cryptosporidium-positive and 103 were detected as Blastocystis-positive, and the overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp. in cattle in Shanxi Province was 2.9% and 13.0%, respectively. For Cryptosporidium spp., DNA sequence analysis indicated that all 23 positive samples were identified as C. andersoni. Furthermore, five known subtypes (ST1, ST10, ST14, ST21 and ST26) and three unknown subtypes of Blastocystis sp. were detected among 103 positive samples using DNA sequence analysis. This study reported the occurrence and prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Blastocystis sp. in cattle in Shanxi Province for the first time, which extends the geographical distribution of these two zoonotic parasites and provides baseline data for the prevention and control of these two important zoonotic parasites in cattle in Shanxi Province.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Liang
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Ya-Ya Liu
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Jin-Jin Mei
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Wen-Bin Zheng
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Qing Liu
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Wen-Wei Gao
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
| | - Xing-Quan Zhu
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
- Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health of Higher Education of Yunnan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Shi-Chen Xie
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Jinzhong 030801, China; (Y.L.); (Y.-Y.L.); (J.-J.M.); (W.-B.Z.); (Q.L.); (W.-W.G.)
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
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Degree of anisogamy is unrelated to the intensity of sexual selection. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19424. [PMID: 34593863 PMCID: PMC8484679 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98616-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Males and females often display different behaviours and, in the context of reproduction, these behaviours are labelled sex roles. The Darwin–Bateman paradigm argues that the root of these differences is anisogamy (i.e., differences in size and/or function of gametes between the sexes) that leads to biased sexual selection, and sex differences in parental care and body size. This evolutionary cascade, however, is contentious since some of the underpinning assumptions have been questioned. Here we investigate the relationships between anisogamy, sexual size dimorphism, sex difference in parental care and intensity of sexual selection using phylogenetic comparative analyses of 64 species from a wide range of animal taxa. The results question the first step of the Darwin–Bateman paradigm, as the extent of anisogamy does not appear to predict the intensity of sexual selection. The only significant predictor of sexual selection is the relative inputs of males and females into the care of offspring. We propose that ecological factors, life-history and demography have more substantial impacts on contemporary sex roles than the differences of gametic investments between the sexes.
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Bouchard É, Schurer JM, Kolapo T, Wagner B, Massé A, Locke SA, Leighton P, Jenkins EJ. Host and geographic differences in prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal helminths of foxes ( Vulpes vulpes), coyotes ( Canis latrans) and wolves ( Canis lupus) in Québec, Canada. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2021; 16:126-137. [PMID: 34552844 PMCID: PMC8441108 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Wild canids are hosts to a wide range of parasites and can play a role in transmission of zoonoses. As many parasites are transmitted through food webs, and wild canids are at high trophic levels, parasite prevalence and diversity in wild canids can serve as excellent indicators of ecosystem health. Our main objectives were to update knowledge on the composition of gastrointestinal helminths in wild canids from Québec, Canada, and to describe differences in parasite prevalence and diversity among canid species and regions. Hunters and trappers provided whole carcasses of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (N = 176), and intestinal tracts of coyotes (Canis latrans) (N = 77) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) (N = 23) harvested for non-research purposes over the winter of 2016-2017. A modified Stoll's centrifugation sucrose flotation on feces of 250 wild canids was used, and eggs of one family and eight genera of parasitic helminths were recovered: diphyllobothriids, Taenia/Echinococcus spp., Capillaria spp., Toxascaris sp., Toxocara sp., Trichuris sp., Uncinaria sp., and Metorchis sp. Adult Taenia spp. cestodes were recovered from 61 of 276 (22%) canids. Six different species (T. hydatigena, T. twitchelli, T. crassiceps, T. polyacantha, T. krabbei, and T. pisiformis-"like") were differentiated based on DNA sequenced from 65 individual adult cestodes using primers for the nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) mitochondrial DNA loci. Alaria sp. trematodes infected 89 of 276 canids (32%). A subset were identified as A. americana at the CO1 locus. The marine trematode Cryptocotyle lingua was reported for the first time in foxes in the province of Québec. These results help us understand more fully the predator-prey relationships within this group of canids. This baseline data in regional parasite prevalence and intensity is critical in order to detect future changes following ecological disturbances due to climate and landscape alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Émilie Bouchard
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada.,Research Group on Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Public Health (GREZOSP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, 3200 Rue Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, J2S 2M2, Canada
| | - Janna M Schurer
- University of Global Health Equity, Center for One Health, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Temitope Kolapo
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada
| | - Brent Wagner
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada
| | - Ariane Massé
- Ministère des Forêts, de La Faune et des Parcs, 880 Chemin Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC, G1S 4X4, Canada.,Research Group on Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Public Health (GREZOSP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, 3200 Rue Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, J2S 2M2, Canada
| | - Sean A Locke
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Department of Biology, Box 9000, Mayagüez 00681, 9000, Puerto Rico
| | - Patrick Leighton
- Research Group on Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Public Health (GREZOSP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, 3200 Rue Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, J2S 2M2, Canada
| | - Emily J Jenkins
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada
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Yoshimura H, Hirata S, Kinoshita K. Plant-eating carnivores: Multispecies analysis on factors influencing the frequency of plant occurrence in obligate carnivores. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:10968-10983. [PMID: 34429895 PMCID: PMC8366844 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant-eating behavior is one of the greatest mysteries in obligate carnivores. Despite unsuitable morphological and physiological traits for plant consumption, the presence of plants in scat or stomach contents has been reported in various carnivorous species. However, researchers' interpretations of this subject are varied, and knowledge about it is scarce, without any multispecies studies. This study assessed the extent of variation in the frequency of plant occurrence in scat and stomach contents, as well as its relationship with various factors in 24 felid species using data from 213 published articles. Since the frequency of plant occurrence has not always been reported, we created two-part models and estimated parameters in a Bayesian framework. We found a significant negative relationship between the frequency of plant occurrence and body mass. This may be because plant-eating behavior reduces the energy loss caused by parasites and increases the efficiency of energy intake, which has a greater importance in smaller animals that have relatively high metabolic rates. This exploratory study highlights the importance of considering plant consumption in dietary studies on carnivorous species to understand the adaptive significance of this behavior and the relationship between obligate carnivores and plants.
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