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Sarcocystis in moose (Alces alces): molecular identification and phylogeny of six Sarcocystis species in moose, and a morphological description of three new species

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Abstract

Muscle tissues from 34 moose from Southeastern Norway and two moose from Canada were examined. Sarcocysts were excised and morphologically classified by light microscopy, and some cysts were further examined by scanning electron microscopy or DNA amplification and sequencing at the small subunit (ssu) rRNA gene. In Norwegian moose, three sarcocyst types were recognized, yet five Sarcocystis species were found by sequence analysis. New names were proposed for three species which could be characterised by both morphological and molecular methods, i.e., Sarcocystis alces, Sarcocystis ovalis, and Sarcocystis scandinavica. S. alces was the most prevalent species, whereas S. scandinavica and the two unnamed species were rare and might either use another principal intermediate host or a rare definitive host. The five species in Norwegian moose were different from Sarcocystis alceslatrans isolated from a Canadian moose. Phylogenetic analyses based on complete ssu rRNA gene sequences revealed a close relationship between the six Sarcocystis species from moose and species from reindeer and Sika deer. We conclude that molecular methods are necessary for unequivocal species identification, as different cervid hosts harbour morphologically indistinguishable sarcocysts.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Løvenskiold Skog for allowing us to collect samples from moose in Nordmarka, as well as individual hunters and others who have provided material from Norwegian moose for the project. We would also like to thank Steinar Stølen at the University of Oslo, Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, for excellent technical assistance with the SEM study. We also thank Doug Colwell and Dawn Gray of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada for sending us samples from two moose from Alberta, Canada.

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  1. Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, P.O. Box 8146 Dep., 0033, Oslo, Norway

    Stina S. Dahlgren & Bjørn Gjerde

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  1. Stina S. Dahlgren
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  2. Bjørn Gjerde
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Correspondence to Stina S. Dahlgren.

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Dahlgren, S.S., Gjerde, B. Sarcocystis in moose (Alces alces): molecular identification and phylogeny of six Sarcocystis species in moose, and a morphological description of three new species. Parasitol Res 103, 93–110 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0936-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0936-1

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