Abstract
Myobia sp. and Demodex sp. are two skin mites that infest mice, particularly immunodeficient or transgenic lab mice. In the present study, wild house mice from five localities from the Barcelona Roberstonian system were analysed in order to detect skin mites and compare their prevalence between standard (2n = 40) and Robertsonian mice (2n > 40). We found and identified skin mites through real-time qPCR by comparing sequences from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and the nuclear 18S rRNA genes since no sequences are available so far using the mitochondrial gene. Fourteen positive samples were identified as Myobia musculi except for a deletion of 296 bp out to 465 bp sequenced, and one sample was identified as Demodex canis. Sampling one body site, the mite prevalence in standard and Robertsonian mice was 0 and 26%, respectively. The malfunction of the immune system elicits an overgrowth of skin mites and consequently leads to diseases such as canine demodicosis in dogs or rosacea in humans. In immunosuppressed mice, the probability of developing demodicosis is higher than in healthy mice. Since six murine toll-like receptors (TLRs) are located in four chromosomes affected by Robertsonian fusions, we cannot dismiss that differences in mite prevalence could be the consequence of the interruption of TLR function. Although ecological and/or morphological factors cannot be disregarded to explain differences in mite prevalence, the detection of translocation breakpoints in TLR genes or the analysis of TLR gene expression are needed to elucidate how Robertsonian fusions affect the immune system in mice.
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Funding
Field work and karyotyping of the mice from the Barcelona Robertsonian system used in this study was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (project number CGL2007-62111 to JV) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project reference CGL2010-15243 to JV). Financial support for genetic analysis was provided by the “Servei Veterinari de Genètica Molecular” (SVGM).
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Permission to capture was granted by the Departament de Medi Ambient of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain). Animals were handled in compliance with guidelines approved by the Comissió d’Ètica en l’Experimentació Animal i Humana (CEEAH) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and by the Department d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca, Alimentació i Medi Natural (Direcció General de Medi Natural i Biodiversitat) of the Generalitat de Catalunya (reference of the experimental procedure authorization: DAAM 6328).
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Supplemental File 1
Sampling regions (Rb = Robertsonian translocated group; St = standard group) (PNG 3.03 mb)
Supplemental File 2
16S rDNA fragment alignments (PNG 2.45 mb)
Supplemental File 3
18S rDNA fragment alignments (PNG 2.88 mb)
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Sastre, N., Calvete, O., Martínez-Vargas, J. et al. Skin mites in mice (Mus musculus): high prevalence of Myobia sp. (Acari, Arachnida) in Robertsonian mice. Parasitol Res 117, 2139–2148 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5901-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5901-z