Abstract
Captive-bred Mus musculus (house mice) and Apodemus
sylvaticus (field mice) were each infected with 50 oocysts of
Toxoplasma gondii M1 strain per os and infection in them
and their offspring was assessed by polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) amplification of the T. gondii B1 gene in brain tissue and
by serology, using the modified agglutination test (MAT).
The chronically infected female A. sylvaticus (n=10)
and
M. musculus (n=23) were mated at least 6 weeks after
infection
(and subsequently to produce up to 6 litters) and their pups examined
3 weeks after weaning at 6 weeks of age. By PCR,
in offspring of A. sylvaticus and M. musculus respectively,
vertical transmission was demonstrated in 82·7% (n=83)
and
85·0% (n=207) of all pups (N.S.,
P>0·05),
95% (n=21) and 100% (n=30) of all litters
(N.S.,
P>0·05), with a mean
(±S.E.) proportion of each litter infected of
0·87 (0·06) and 0·86 (0·04) (N.S.,
P>0·05). There was no change in any of these
variables between first and subsequent litters. By serology, whilst MAT
suggested 100% vertical transmission in A. sylvaticus, it
under-estimated rates of infection in offspring of M. musculus.
A limited series of bioassays from M. musculus
tissues confirmed the good correlation of PCR and the poor correlation
of
MAT with mouse inoculation. These results
indicate that vertical transmission in A. sylvaticus and
M. musculus is extremely efficient and probably endures for the
life
of the breeding female. This mechanism favours parasite transmission and
dispersion by providing a potential reservoir
of infection in hosts predated by the cat.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Animal Science and Zoology,Parasitology
Cited by
77 articles.
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