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Advancing understanding of the taxonomy and diversity of the genus Contracaecum in the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)

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Abstract

Despite the wide distribution and health importance of anisakids of the genus Contracaecum, epidemiological data on their occurrence in definitive bird hosts are scarce, particularly from certain parts of the world that represent important wintering sites or migration stopovers for different bird species. In the present study, Contracaecum spp. infecting six great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) in Israel were identified using light and scanning electron microscopy and phylogenetic analyses of nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase II (cox2). A PCR–RFLP method was also developed and applied to screen large numbers of Contracaecum parasites. Most (415/455) worms recovered were C. micropapillatum, followed by C. gibsoni (31/455), C. quadripapillatum (8/455), and C. multipapillatum E (1/455). Contracaecum micropapillatum from Israel and C. bancrofti from Australia are distinguishable by cox2 but less well resolved with ITS sequences, and could not be distinguished morphologically. Worms with cox2 matching C. gibsoni had ITS matching specimens identified as C. multipapillatum A. To the authors’ knowledge, this represents the first of such studies in Israel and provides useful data on the ecology and distribution of different Contracaecum species of health and economic interest.

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Data availability

The DNA sequences generated in this study have been deposited on the public database GenBank.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the constructive comments of anonymous reviewers on early versions of this manuscript, and express particular thanks to the editor dr. Shokoofeh Shamsi, who kindly provided specimens of C. bancrofti from Australia.

Funding

This study was supported by the Israeli Veterinary Services and by the University of Bologna, Italy. Scanning Electron Microscopy acquired thanks to the Department of Excellence Project 2018–2022 funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research. SAL was supported by the National Science Foundation (DEB award 1845021).

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  1. Monica Caffara and Perla Tedesco contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Tolara Di Sopra 50, 40064, Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy

    Monica Caffara, Perla Tedesco, Andrea Gustinelli, Michelle Nuytten, Marialuisa Nuzzo & Maria Letizia Fioravanti

  2. Israeli Veterinary Services, 5025001, Bet Dagan, Israel

    Nadav Davidovich

  3. Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Box 9000, Mayagüez, 00681-9000, Puerto Rico

    Sean A. Locke

  4. Israel Nature and Parks Authority, 3 Am Ve′Olamo St, 95463, Jerusalem, Israel

    Roni King

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  1. Monica Caffara
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Contributions

MC and PT wrote the main manuscript text, carried out the analyses, and prepared all the figures. MN and MN provided the technical support for SEM and molecular analyses. ND and RK carried out the sampling and necropsies. SL carried out the multivariate analysis and revised the manuscript. AG and MLF revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Monica Caffara.

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Caffara, M., Tedesco, P., Davidovich, N. et al. Advancing understanding of the taxonomy and diversity of the genus Contracaecum in the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). Parasitol Res 122, 315–331 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07732-z

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