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Tillis SB, Iredale ME, Childress AL, Graham EA, Wellehan JFX, Isaza R, Ossiboff RJ. Oral, Cloacal, and Hemipenal Actinomycosis in Captive Ball Pythons (Python regius). Front Vet Sci 2021; 7:594600. [PMID: 33490131 PMCID: PMC7820239 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.594600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ball pythons (Python regius) are one of the most commonly kept and bred reptiles in captivity. In a large ball python breeding colony, a unique syndrome characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the cloaca and hemipenes (phalli) was observed in 140 of 481 (29.1%) breeding males, but only one of 1,446 breeding females. Lesions were absent in virgin males (n = 201) and virgin females (n = 293). On postmortem examination (n = 13, 12 males, 1 female), numerous well-defined mucosal and submucosal granulomas were present in the hemipenes (males) and cloaca (males and female). Extension into the coelomic cavity and liver was noted in a subset of these animals. An additional small subset of breeder animals (6/2027; 0.3%) presented with oral and mandibular swellings. Postmortem examination (n = 4, all female) showed oral lesions histologically indistinguishable from the cloacal/hemipenal lesions. Aerobic bacterial culture of a hepatic granuloma of one snake resulted in the isolation of filamentous, Gram-positive bacilli; amplification, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and subsequent phylogenetic analysis of the isolate identified the bacterium as a novel species of Actinomyces. Screening of cloacal and oral granulomas using a specific, heminested 16S rRNA PCR assay confirmed the presence of the agent in all 17 snakes, as well as in cloacal swabs taken at the time of necropsy in 11/13 snakes. The Actinomyces sp. was also identified by PCR of cloacal swabs of unaffected snakes (n = 94) from the affected colony and two unrelated, grossly unaffected breeding colonies. In the affected colony, 65.5% of breeding animals (n = 23) but only 11.9% of virgin animals (n = 42) tested PCR positive, with breeding status being a significant predictor of bacterium presence (P < 0.00001). This study characterizes a granulomatous mucosal disease syndrome of breeding male ball pythons associated with a novel Actinomyces. In stark contrast to male snakes, the presence of the bacterium in both breeding and virgin females was very rarely associated with clinical disease. Though additional studies are necessary, these data suggest a role for the novel bacterium in the disease process, a predilection for clinical disease in male snakes, and the potential for sexual transmission of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven B Tillis
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Marley E Iredale
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - April L Childress
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Erin A Graham
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - James F X Wellehan
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Ramiro Isaza
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Robert J Ossiboff
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Sanger TJ, Gredler ML, Cohn MJ. Resurrecting embryos of the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, to resolve vertebrate phallus evolution. Biol Lett 2015; 11:20150694. [PMID: 26510679 PMCID: PMC4650183 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The breadth of anatomical and functional diversity among amniote external genitalia has led to uncertainty about the evolutionary origins of the phallus. In several lineages, including the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, adults lack an intromittent phallus, raising the possibility that the amniote ancestor lacked external genitalia and reproduced using cloacal apposition. Accordingly, a phallus may have evolved multiple times in amniotes. However, similarities in development across amniote external genitalia suggest that the phallus may have a single evolutionary origin. To resolve the evolutionary history of amniote genitalia, we performed three-dimensional reconstruction of Victorian era tuatara embryos to look for embryological evidence of external genital initiation. Despite the absence of an intromittent phallus in adult tuataras, our observations show that tuatara embryos develop genital anlagen. This illustrates that there is a conserved developmental stage of external genital development among all amniotes and suggests a single evolutionary origin of amniote external genitalia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Sanger
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, PO Box 103610, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Marissa L Gredler
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, PO Box 103610, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Martin J Cohn
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, PO Box 103610, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA Department of Biology, University of Florida, PO Box 103610, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Florida, PO Box 103610, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
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