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Electron microscopic study of in vitro cultures of Hammondia heydorni (Berlin 1996) tachyzoites after passages through dogs, mice, rats, guinea pigs and jirds

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Abstract

This study describes the fine structure and reproduction of tachyzoites of Hammondia heydorni (isolate Berlin 1996) after in vitro cultivation of stages isolated from serial passages between dogs and various intermediate hosts such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, jirds, knock-out mice, goats and sheep. The tachyzoites are identical with respect to their ultrastructural features to the corresponding stages of the NC-1-strain of Neospora caninum. This fact conforms with other already published data and underlines our opinion that the recently redescribed N. caninum Dubey et al. 2002 is a synonym of the previously described H. heydorni (Tadros and Laarman 1976) Dubey 1977.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the following colleagues and technicians: Dr. Riebe (Institute of Infectiology, Federal Research Centre for Virus Diseases of Animals, Insel Riems, Germany) for generously providing the tissue cell-lines to Dr. Schares. Dr. Schares (Department of Epidemiologic Diagnostics, Federal Research Centre for Virus Diseases of Animals, Wusterhausen) for isolating the tachyzoites from our infected animals, their cultivation in Dr. Riebe's cells and for providing infected cells for our TEM–examination. Dr. W. Peters (now: Regierungspräsidium Arnsberg, Germany) for providing Fig. 5 from his TEM-investigations done parallel to ours.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    H. Mehlhorn

  2. Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Free University, 14163, Berlin, Germany

    A. O. Heydorn

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  1. H. Mehlhorn
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  2. A. O. Heydorn
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Correspondence to H. Mehlhorn.

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Mehlhorn, H., Heydorn, A.O. Electron microscopic study of in vitro cultures of Hammondia heydorni (Berlin 1996) tachyzoites after passages through dogs, mice, rats, guinea pigs and jirds. Parasitol Res 90, 512–520 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-003-0889-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-003-0889-3

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