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Pinto HA. Describing formally larval trematodes: some reflections in the taxonomic integrative era. Trends Parasitol 2023; 39:889-890. [PMID: 37596103 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hudson A Pinto
- Laboratório de Biologia de Trematoda, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Krupenko D, Miroliubov A, Kryukov E, Faure L, Minemizu R, Haag L, Lundgren M, Kameneva P, Kastriti ME, Adameyko I. Polymorphic parasitic larvae cooperate to build swimming colonies luring hosts. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4524-4531.e4. [PMID: 37741283 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Parasites have evolved a variety of astonishing strategies to survive within their hosts, yet the most challenging event in their personal chronicles is the passage from one host to another. It becomes even more complex when a parasite needs to pass through the external environment. Therefore, the free-living stages of parasites present a wide range of adaptations for transmission. Parasitic flatworms from the group Digenea (flukes) have free-living larvae, cercariae, which are remarkably diverse in structure and behavior.1,2 One of the cercariae transmission strategies is to attain a prey-like appearance for the host.3 This can be done through the formation of a swimming aggregate of several cercariae adjoined together by their tails.4 Through the use of live observations and light, electron, and confocal microscopy, we described such a supposedly prey-mimetic colony comprising cercariae of two distinct morphotypes. They are functionally specialized: larger morphotype (sailors) enable motility, and smaller morphotype (passengers) presumably facilitate infection. The analysis of local read alignments between the two samples reveals that both cercaria types have identical 18S, 28S, and 5.8S rRNA genes. Further phylogenetic analysis of these ribosomal sequences indicates that our specimen belongs to the digenean family Acanthocolpidae, likely genus Pleorchis. This discovery provides a unique example and a novel insight into how morphologically and functionally heterogeneous individuals of the same species cooperate to build colonial organisms for the purpose of infection. This strategy bears resemblance to the cooperating castes of the same species found among insects.5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darya Krupenko
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg University, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia.
| | - Aleksei Miroliubov
- Laboratory of Parasitic Worms and Protists, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Universitetskaya Embankment, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Emil Kryukov
- Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts. Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Louis Faure
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ryo Minemizu
- Ryo Minemizu Photo Office, Shizuoka 411-0907, Japan
| | - Lars Haag
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 141 57 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Magnus Lundgren
- Department of Organismal Biology, University of Uppsala, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Polina Kameneva
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Eleni Kastriti
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Igor Adameyko
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
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Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome Follow a Similar Emergence Pattern under Different Subarctic Conditions: First Experimental Study. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11060647. [PMID: 35745501 PMCID: PMC9227376 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11060647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of cercariae from infected mollusks is considered one of the most important adaptive strategies for maintaining the trematode life cycle. Short transmission opportunities of cercariae are often compensated by periodic daily rhythms in the cercarial release. However, there are virtually no data on the cercarial emergence of bird schistosomes from freshwater ecosystems in northern latitudes. We investigated the daily cercarial emergence rhythms of the bird schistosome Trichobilharzia sp. “peregra” from the snail host Radix balthica in a subarctic lake under both natural and laboratory seasonal conditions. We demonstrated a circadian rhythm with the highest emergence during the morning hours, being seasonally independent of the photo- and thermo-period regimes of subarctic summer and autumn, as well as relatively high production of cercariae at low temperatures typical of northern environments. These patterns were consistent under both field and laboratory conditions. While light intensity triggered and prolonged cercarial emergence, the temperature had little effect on cercarial rhythms but regulated seasonal output rates. This suggests an adaptive strategy of bird schistosomes to compensate for the narrow transmission window. Our results fill a gap in our knowledge of the transmission dynamics and success of bird schistosomes under high latitude conditions that may serve as a basis for elucidating future potential risks and implementing control measures related to the spread of cercarial dermatitis due to global warming.
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