Molecular and Biological Characterization of Hammondia heydorni–Like Oocysts From a Dog Fed Hearts From Naturally Infected White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

First isolation of Hammondia heydorni from dogs in China

Fecal samples of 945 dogs were examined microscopically in 2 refuge facilities in China from March 2010 to November 2011. In 8 dogs, oocysts, 9-14 μm in size, were found. Their morphology was similar to those of Hammondia heydorni and Neospora caninum. Sporulated Hammondia/Neospora-like oocysts were fed to 2 dogs, 2 gerbils, 2 guinea pigs, and 2 KM mice; tissues from these inoculated animals were then fed to coccidia-free dogs to determine species susceptibility to these oocysts. Oocysts were not excreted in the feces of dogs or rodents inoculated with oocysts. However, the dogs fed the tissues of gerbils or guinea pigs that were inoculated orally with oocysts excreted fresh oocysts. Dogs fed tissues from guinea pigs inoculated with brain and muscular homogenate from guinea pigs that were fed sporulated Hammondia/Neospora-like oocysts did not excrete oocysts. These findings indicated that the oocysts from naturally infected dogs had an obligatory 2-host life cycle, with gerbils and guinea pigs as intermediate hosts. DNA isolated from these oocysts could not be amplified using N. caninum- and Toxoplasma gondii-specific primers. However, positive amplification with the H. heydorni-specific primers confirmed the presence of H. heydorni DNA in the samples. A comparison of the intron 1 sequence of the alpha tubulin gene with those from H. heydorni from dogs and H. triffittae from foxes showed that dog-derived oocysts possessed a different alpha tubulin gene. Both our dog-derived sequence and 2 previous alpha tubulin gene sequences from H. triffittae from foxes contained a 9-bp insertion relative to 3 sequences of H. heydorni from dogs. However, when the 9-bp insertion from H. triffittae sequences were compared, the 9-bp insertion in our dog-derived sequence had a nucleotide substitution. The present study, therefore, provides new evidence of genetic diversity among isolates from dogs. This is the first survey for H. heydorni in dogs from China.

A review of the infection, genetics, and evolution of Neospora caninum: from the past to the present

This paper is a review of current knowledge on Neospora caninum in the context of other apicomplexan parasites and with an emphasis on: life cycle, disease, epidemiology, immunity, control and treatment, evolution, genomes, and biological databases and web resources. N. caninum is an obligate, intracellular, coccidian, protozoan parasite of the phylum Apicomplexa. Infection can cause the clinical disease neosporosis, which most notably is associated with abortion in cattle. These abortions are a major root cause of economic loss to both the dairy and beef industries worldwide. N. caninum has been detected in every country in which a study has been specifically conducted to detect this parasite in cattle. The major mode of transmission in cattle is transplacental (or vertical) transmission and several elements of the N. caninum life cycle are yet to be studied in detail. The outcome of an infection is inextricably linked to the precise timing of the infection coupled with the status of the immune system of the dam and foetus. There is no community consensus as to whether it is the dam's pro-inflammatory cytotoxic response to tachyzoites that kills the foetus or the tachyzoites themselves. From economic analysis the most cost-effective approach to control neosporosis is a vaccine. The perfect vaccine would protect against both infection and the clinical disease, and this implies a vaccine is needed that can induce a non-foetopathic cell mediated immunity response. Researchers are beginning to capitalise on the vast potential of -omics data (e.g. genomes, transcriptomes, and proteomes) to further our understanding of pathogens but especially to identify vaccine and drug targets. The recent publication of a genome for N. caninum offers vast opportunities in these areas.

Hammondia triffittae n. comb. of foxes (Vulpes spp.): biological and molecular characteristics and differentiation from Hammondia heydorni of dogs

Genomic DNAs from 3 oocyst isolates of Hammondia sp. from foxes (Vulpes vulpes and V. lagopus) and 1 oocyst isolate of Hammondia heydorni from a dog, were examined by PCR and sequence analysis of 6 loci in order to determine whether the isolates were conspecific. Consistent genetic differences were found between the fox and dog isolates, respectively, at the ITS-2 region, the lsu rRNA gene, the alpha tubulin gene and the HSP70 gene, but not at the ssu rRNA gene or ITS-1 locus. Infection experiments established that dogs were unsuitable as definitive hosts for Hammondia sp. of foxes; hence this species is regarded as separate from H. heydorni of wolf-like canids, but probably identical with Isospora triffittae (syn. Isospora triffitti) previously reported from foxes. This species has therefore been named Hammondia triffittae n. comb. Reindeer, moose, sheep, goats, foxes and rabbits may act as intermediate hosts for H. triffittae. Muscle tissues of inoculated intermediate hosts were infectious for foxes from 16 days post-infection. Oocysts of H. triffittae were subspherical, averaging 12·5×10·9 μm in size. The lsu rRNA gene and the alpha tubulin gene seem to be suitable genetic markers for differentiating between H. triffittae and H. heydorni.

Investigation of Neospora caninum, Hammondia sp., and Toxoplasma gondii in tissues from slaughtered beef cattle in Bahia, Brazil

Neospora caninum, Hammondia sp., and Toxoplasma gondii are parasites with morphological and genetic similarities. N. caninum and T. gondii are important abortive agents of cattle and sheep, respectively, and may infect numerous animal species. Hammondia sp. is not known to induce disease in animals, but may cause confusion in the identification of closely related coccidia. The aim of this study was to investigate infection rates caused by N. caninum, Hammondia sp., and T. gondii in beef cattle using a nested PCR for Toxoplasmatinae rDNA, followed by sequencing of the PCR products. Antibodies to N. caninum and T. gondii were also investigated in the tested animals. Brains and hearts were obtained from 100 beef cattle in a slaughterhouse in Bahia. Seven samples from brain tested positive for Toxoplasmatinae DNA. No positive reactions were found in heart tissues. After sequencing of the PCR products from all positive tissues, five sequences matched with N. caninum and two matched with T. gondii. Antibodies to N. caninum and T. gondii were found in 20% and 26% of the animals, respectively. The confirmation of N. caninum and the absence of Hammondia heydorni in the tested animals is suggestive that cattle are not efficient intermediate hosts of H. heydorni; however further studies need to be performed using a greater variety of tissues and a higher sample size. The detection of T. gondii DNA in bovine tissues reinforces the potential risk of transmission of this parasite to humans and other animals through the consumption of bovine meat.

Detection of Hammondia heydorni and related coccidia (Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii) in goats slaughtered in Bahia, Brazil

Hammondia heydorni is a coccidian parasite with an obligatory two host life cycle, with dogs and foxes as definitive hosts, and a number of intermediate hosts, including goats. While infection by this parasite seems to be unassociated with any clinical signs, infection by the closely related parasites Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii can result in abortion, stillbirths and low yielding in caprine herds. The aim of this work was to investigate the frequency of goats infected with H. heydorni using a nested PCR, specific to Toxoplasmatinae internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the rDNA, followed by sequencing of the purified PCR fragments. The same molecular techniques were used to determine the frequencies of N. caninum and T. gondii-infected animals. A total frequency of 13.72% (14/102) was obtained for Toxoplasmatinae DNA in goat tissues. After sequencing the PCR products from all positive tissues, a frequency of 3.92% (4/102), 1.96% (2/102) and 7.84% (8/102) were obtained for H. heydorni, N. caninum and T. gondii, respectively. All sequences shared 98-100% identity with sequences from other strains of these coccidia present in GenBank. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of H. heydorni DNA in tissues from naturally infected intermediate hosts.

Neosporosis and hammondiosis in dogs

The dog is a definitive host of the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, and in many parts of the world, infection is relatively common as determined by serology. Reported seroprevalences usually range from 0 to 20 per cent, however, reports of clinically affected dogs are infrequent. Affected dogs are generally less than six months old and predominantly have signs of an ascending hindleg paralysis, with the associated lesions of polyradiculoneuritis and granulomatous polymyositis. Although any organ may be affected, infections are more common in the central nervous system, muscles, lungs and skin. Ante-mortem diagnosis is difficult but serology and cytology can aid diagnosis. The diagnosis can be confirmed by histology, immunohistochemistry, the use of molecular techniques on biopsy material, or on post-mortem examination. Neospora caninum oocysts are rarely found in faeces and must be differentiated from oocysts of related coccidians such as Hammondia heydorni and Toxoplasma gondii. Hammondia heydorni can cause diarrrhoea in immunosuppressed dogs. Neosporosis should be suspected in young pups with an ascending paralysis of the hindlegs. Treatment with clindamycin and potentiated sulphonamides may be useful in cases where muscular atrophy and fibrosis are absent. Feeding of raw meat is a potential risk factor for infection of dogs and should be discouraged.

Hammondia heydorni: evidence of genetic diversity among isolates from dogs

Canine isolates of Hammondia heydorni from Argentina, Brazil, and the United States were analysed for genetic diversity. A total of 14 isolates were tested for their ability to produce amplification using three PCR assays, one targeting the common toxoplasmatiid ITS-1 region and 2 amplifying novel, H. heydorni-specific loci, HhAP7 and HhAP10. While the ITS-1 fragments could be amplified from all isolates, only six isolates were capable of amplifying the fragments from the novel loci. The PCR products were further investigated for genetic diversity using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) techniques. Polymorphism in the digestion pattern was evident only at the HhAP10 locus, differentiating two of the Argentinean isolates from the remainder. Mobility shifts on SSCP gels revealed that the two Argentinean isolates were not only different from the other four isolates, but also differed from each other, both at the HhAP7 and HhAP10 loci. The ITS-1 fragments of all isolates were identical by RFLP. However, two distinct mobility patterns resulted when the products were electrophoresed on SSCP gels. Based on the sequence data from the ITS-1 and the two random loci, the isolates could be broadly classified into two distinct groups, within which minor polymorphisms were evident. In contrast, very little heterogeneity occurred in the sequences of corresponding ITS-1 regions of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii isolates. Thus, it is concluded that there is a considerable degree of microheterogeneity among isolates of H. heydorni. This diversity should be taken into consideration while attempting to elucidate the systematics, diagnostics, and biology of H. heydorni in relation to N. caninum.