Identification of Sarcocystis and Trichinella Species in Muscles of Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) from Lithuania
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Published:2024-02-10
Issue:2
Volume:11
Page:85
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ISSN:2306-7381
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Container-title:Veterinary Sciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Veterinary Sciences
Author:
Juozaitytė-Ngugu Evelina1ORCID, Maziliauskaitė Evelina1, Kirjušina Muza2ORCID, Prakas Petras1, Vaitkevičiūtė Rasa3, Stankevičiūtė Jolanta3, Butkauskas Dalius1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania 2. Department of Ecology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Parādes 1, 5401 Daugavpils, Latvia 3. Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentų 11, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania
Abstract
Apicomplexan Sarcocystis and Trichinella nematodes are food-borne parasites whose life cycle is carried-out in various wildlife and domestic animals. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is an apex predator acting as an ecosystem engineer. This study aimed to identify the species of Sarcocystis and Trichinella found in the muscles of gray wolves in Lithuania. During the 2017–2022 period, diaphragm, heart, and hind leg samples of 15 animals were examined. Microscopical analysis showed the presence of two types of Sarcocystis parasites in 26.7% of the analyzed muscle samples. Based on the sequencing of five loci, nuclear 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS1, mitochondrial cox1, and apicoplast rpoB, S. arctica, and S. svanai were identified. The current work presents the first report of S. svanai in gray wolf. Phylogenetically, S. svanai clustered together with S. lutrae, infecting various carnivorans, and S. arctica was most closely related to S. felis from domestic cats. Trichinella spp. were found in 12 gray wolves (80%). For the first time, Trichinella species were molecularly identified in gray wolves from Lithuania. Trichinella britovi was confirmed in all of the isolated Trichinella larvae using a multiplex PCR. Gray wolves in Lithuania may serve as a major source of zoonotic pathogens due to the presence of these parasites.
Funder
Open Access research infrastructure of the Nature Research Centre
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