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Characterisation of Isospora lusitanensis n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in mainland Portugal

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Abstract

A new coccidian species (Protozoa: Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) is described from a specimen of the Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus held for rehabilitation and reintroduction into the wild in a centre for research and recovery of wild animals in Quinta de Marim, Olhão, Portugal. Isospora lusitanensis n. sp. has subspherical to ovoidal oöcysts, measuring on average 26.4 × 23.4 μm, with smooth, bi-layered wall c.1.1 μm thick. Micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but a polar granule is present. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, measuring on average 16.0 × 10.9 µm. Stieda body is knob-like and sub-Stieda body is prominent and rounded. Sporocyst residuum is composed of scattered spherules. Sporozoites are vermiform, with one refractile body and a nucleus. The morphological and morphometric data for the new species were compared with those for species parasitising birds of the Muscicapidae, Turdidae, Timaliidae, Troglodytidae and Cinclidae, which are considered phylogenetically close. The original histograms of Isospora turdi Schwalbach, 1959 were redrawn for comparison with I. lusitanensis n. sp. and a linear regression of width against length of the oöcysts is presented for characterisation. This is the first isosporoid coccidian described from T. merula in mainland Portugal.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff at the RIAS facility at Quinta de Marim, Olhão, Portugal, who enabled the collection of samples from birds held for rehabilitation and reintroduction into the wild.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Ibero-American Scholarship Programme for Teachers and Researchers Santander Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biomedicina Translacional, Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Grande Rio, Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Sergian Vianna Cardozo

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação em Agropecuária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Sergian Vianna Cardozo

  3. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR-465 km 7, 23897-970 Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Bruno Pereira Berto

  4. Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Isabel Pereira da Fonseca

  5. Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar/Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    André Tomás

  6. Centro Universitário Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fátima Regina P. B. Thode

  7. Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Carlos Wilson G. Lopes

Authors
  1. Sergian Vianna Cardozo
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  2. Bruno Pereira Berto
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  3. Isabel Pereira da Fonseca
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  4. André Tomás
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  5. Fátima Regina P. B. Thode
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  6. Carlos Wilson G. Lopes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruno Pereira Berto.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Animal manipulation in the RIAS was performed by suitably qualified professionals, according to the directive 86/609/EEC. All experimental assays, with or without the use of animals were performed in accordance with Government Veterinary Service (Direção Geral de Veterinária/DGV).

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Cardozo, S.V., Berto, B.P., da Fonseca, I.P. et al. Characterisation of Isospora lusitanensis n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in mainland Portugal. Syst Parasitol 92, 171–179 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-015-9590-z

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