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Sarcocystis infecting reptiles in Saudi Arabia

1—Light and electron microscopic study on Sarcocysts of Sarcocystis turcicii sp. nov. infecting the gecko Hemidactylus turcicus Linnaeus

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Abstract

In the present study, sarcocysts of a Sarcocystis species infecting the gecko Hemidactylus turcicus was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Six out of 26 (23%) H. turcicus were found to be infected with cysts of Sarcocystis. Examined muscle samples of different sites showed high intensity of infection in the tail and hind limb skeletal muscles. Microscopically visible cysts reached a mean size of 80 × 720 μm. These cysts are characterized by a light microscopically thick cyst wall and inner prominent septa dividing their interior into a large number of compartments enclosing the different zoites. Ultrastructural characteristics of the primary cyst wall and its long, mostly not upright protrusions were investigated. Two widely differentiated zoites (metrocytes and cyst merozoites) were clearly identified; they all showed the characteristic architecture of the Apicomplexa and especially that of the genus Sarcocystis. The about 5–7 μm sized cyst merozoites seemed to be differentiated into those being either poorly or richly supplied with reserve materials (amylopectin, lipids). This finding may indicate the existence of different developmental stages. Events of endodyogeny represented the only mode of reproduction inside the cysts. While comparing the morphology of these cysts with other descriptions of cysts in reptiles, they were described as a new species (Sarcocystis turcicii).

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Acknowledgement

This work was gratefully supported by Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Research, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Fathy Abdel-Ghaffar & Abdel-Rahman Bashtar

  2. Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Saleh Al-Quraishy

  3. Science Department, Teacher’s College, Qasim University, Qasim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Ibrahim Al Nasr

  4. Zoomorphology, Cell Biology and Parasitology Institute, Düsseldorf University, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

Authors
  1. Fathy Abdel-Ghaffar
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  2. Abdel-Rahman Bashtar
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  3. Saleh Al-Quraishy
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  4. Ibrahim Al Nasr
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  5. Heinz Mehlhorn
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Correspondence to Fathy Abdel-Ghaffar.

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Abdel-Ghaffar, F., Bashtar, AR., Al-Quraishy, S. et al. Sarcocystis infecting reptiles in Saudi Arabia. Parasitol Res 104, 503–508 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1221-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1221-z

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