Abstract
The breast and leg muscles of a common eider (Somateria mollissima; Anatidae: Anseriformes) from northern Norway contained numerous grossly visible cigar-shaped sarcocysts measuring about 5 × 1 mm. Light microscopic examination of isolated sarcocysts revealed that they were encapsulated by a thin fibrous layer, underneath which there was a thin and fairly smooth cyst wall with no visible protrusions. The cystozoites were straight, spindle-shaped and about 13 μm long. Genomic DNA was extracted from 12 excised sarcocysts and each DNA isolate was subjected to PCR amplification of one to four loci: the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes (four isolates), the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region (six isolates) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) (12 isolates). At the three nuclear loci, the new sequences showed 99.9–100 % sequence identity with previous sequences of Sarcocystis rileyi from the mallard duck in Lithuania and USA, and they could therefore be assigned to this species. At cox1, the new sequences of S. rileyi were most similar to Sarcocystis arctica and Sarcocystis neurona, but the most closely related Sarcocystis spp. in birds have not been sequenced at this locus. There was no sequence variation at any locus between the 4–12 examined isolates of S. rileyi. This is the first genetically verified record of S. rileyi in the common eider, as well as in any bird species in Norway. The phylogenetic placement of S. rileyi was inferred separately from 28S rRNA gene and cox1 sequences, and similar results were obtained in both analyses.
References
Box ED, Meier JL, Smith JH (1984) Description of Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles, 1893, a parasite of birds and opossums. J Protozool 31:521–524
Cawthorn RJ, Rainnie D, Wobeser G (1981) Experimental transmission of Sarcocystis sp. (Protozoa: Sarcocystidae) between the shoveler (Anas clypeata) duck and the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). J Wildl Dis 17:389–394. doi:10.7589/0090-3558-17.3.389
Drouin TE, Mahrt JL (1979) The prevalence of Sarcocystis Lankester, 1882, in some bird species in western Canada, with notes on its life cycle. Can J Zool 57:1915–1921. doi:10.1139/z79-254
Drouin TE, Mahrt JL (1980) The morphology of cysts of Sarcocystis infecting birds in western Canada. Can J Zool 58:1477–1482. doi:10.1139/z80-203
Dubey JP, Cawthorn RJ, Speer CA, Wobeser GA (2003) Redescription of the sarcocysts of Sarcocystis rileyi (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae). J Eukaryot Microbiol 50:476–482. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2003.tb00274.x
Dubey JP, Rosenthal BM, Felix TA (2010) Morphologic and molecular characterization of the sarcocysts of Sarcocystis rileyi (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos). J Parasitol 96:765–770. doi:10.1645/GE-2413.1
Flynn JJ, Finarelli JA, Zehr S, Hsu J, Nedbal MA (2005) Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora (Mammalia): assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships. Syst Biol 54:317–337. doi:10.1080/10635150590923326
Gjerde B (1984a) A light microscopic comparison of the cysts of four species of Sarcocystis infecting the domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in northern Norway. Acta Vet Scand 25:195–204
Gjerde B (1984b) Sarcocystis infection in wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from Hardangervidda in southern Norway: with a description of the cysts of Sarcocystis hardangeri n. sp. Acta Vet Scand 25:205–212
Gjerde B (1985a) Ultrastructure of the cysts of Sarcocystis rangiferi from skeletal muscle of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Can J Zool 63:2669–2675. doi:10.1139/z85-399
Gjerde B (1985b) Ultrastructure of the cysts of Sarcocystis hardangeri from skeletal muscle of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Can J Zool 63:2676–2683. doi:10.1139/z85-400
Gjerde B (2013a) Characterisation of full-length mitochondrial copies and partial nuclear copies (numts) of the cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I genes of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, Hammondia heydorni and Hammondia triffittae (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae). Parasitol Res 112:1493–1511. doi:10.1007/s00436-013-3296-4
Gjerde B (2013b) Phylogenetic relationships among Sarcocystis species in cervids, cattle and sheep inferred from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. Int J Parasitol 43:579–591. doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2013.02.004
Gjerde B (2014a) Sarcocystis species in red deer revisited: with a re-description of two known species as Sarcocystis elongata n. sp. and Sarcocystis truncata n. sp. based on mitochondrial cox1 sequences. Parasitology 141:441–452. doi:10.1017/S0031182013001819
Gjerde B (2014b) Morphological and molecular characteristics of four Sarcocystis spp. in Canadian moose (Alces alces), including Sarcocystis taeniata n. sp. Parasitol Res 113:1591–1604. doi:10.1007/s00436-014-3806-z
Gjerde B, Dahlgren SS (2010) Corvid birds (Corvidae) act as definitive hosts for Sarcocystis ovalis in moose (Alces alces). Parasitol Res 107:1445–1453. doi:10.1007/s00436-010-2017-5
Gjerde B, Dahlgren SS (2011) Hammondia triffittae n. comb. of foxes (Vulpes spp.): biological and molecular characteristics and differentiation from Hammondia heydorni of dogs. Parasitology 138:303–321. doi:10.1017/S0031182010001265
Gjerde B, Schulze J (2014) Muscular sarcocystosis in two arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) due to Sarcocystis arctica n. sp.: sarcocyst morphology, molecular characteristics and phylogeny. Parasitol Res 113:811–821. doi:10.1007/s00436-013-3711-x
Kutkienė L, Sruoga A (2004) Sarcocystis spp. in birds of the order Anseriformes. Parasitol Res 92:171–172. doi:10.1007/s00436-003-1018-z
Kutkienė L, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2006) Sarcocystis sp. from white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons): cyst morphology and life cycle studies. Parasitol Res 99:562–565. doi:10.1007/s00436-006-0196-x
Kutkienė L, Prakas P, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2009) Sarcocystis in the birds family Corvidae with description of Sarcocystis cornixi sp. nov. from the hooded crow (Corvus cornix). Parasitol Res 104:329–236. doi:10.1007/s00436-008-1196-9
Kutkienė L, Prakas P, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2010) The mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) as intermediate host for Sarcocystis wobeseri sp. nov. from the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). Parasitol Res 107:879–888. doi:10.1007/s00436-010-1945-4
Kutkienė L, Prakas P, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2011) Identification of Sarcocystis rileyi from the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) in Europe: cyst morphology and results of DNA analysis. Parasitol Res 108:709–714. doi:10.1007/s00436-010-2117-2
Kutkienė L, Prakas P, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2012a) Description of Sarcocystis anasi sp. nov. and Sarcocystis albifronsi sp. nov. in birds of the order Anseriformes. Parasitol Res 110:1043–1046. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2588-9
Kutkienė L, Prakas P, Butkauskas D, Sruoga A (2012b) Description of Sarcocystis turdusi sp. nov. from the common blackbird (Turdus merula). Parasitology 139:1438–1443. doi:10.1017/S0031182012000819
Mugridge NB, Morrison DA, Johnson AM, Luton K, Dubey JP, Votýpka J, Tenter AM (1999) Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Frenkelia: a review of its history and new knowledge gained from comparison of large subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequences. Int J Parasitol 29:957–972
Odening K (1998) The present state of species-systematics in Sarcocystis Lankester, 1882 (Protista, Sporozoa, Coccidia). System Parasitol 41:209–233
Olias P, Gruber AD, Heydorn AO, Kohls A, Mehlhorn H, Hafez HM, Lierz M (2009) A novel Sarcocystis-associated encephalitis and myositis in racing pigeons. Avian Pathol 38:121–128. doi:10.1080/03079450902737847
Olias P, Gruber AD, Hafez HM, Heydorn AO, Mehlhorn H, Lierz M (2010a) Sarcocystis calchasi sp. nov. of the domestic pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica) and the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis): light and electron microscopical characteristics. Parasitol Res 106:577–585. doi:10.1007/s00436-009-1701-9
Olias P, Olias L, Lierz M, Mehlhorn H, Gruber AD (2010b) Sarcocystis calchasi is distinct to Sarcocystis columbae sp. nov. from the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and Sarcocystis sp. from the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). Vet Parasitol 171:7–14. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.03.021
Olias P, Olias L, Krücken J, Lierz M, Gruber AD (2011) High prevalence of Sarcocystis calchasi sporocysts in European Accipiter hawks. Vet Parasitol 175:230–236. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.10.025
Olias P, Maier K, Wuenschmann A, Reed L, Armién AG, Shaw DP, Gruber AD, Lierz M (2014) Sarcocystis calchasi has an expanded host range and induces neurological disease in cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) and North American rock pigeons (Columbia livia f. dom.). Vet Parasitol 200:59–65. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.11.012
Prakas P, Kutkienė L, Sruoga A, Butkauskas D (2011) Sarcocystis sp. from the herring gull (Larus argentatus) identity to Sarcocystis wobeseri based on cyst morphology and DNA results. Parasitol Res 109:1603–1608. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2421-5
Prakas P, Kutkienė L, Butkauskas D, Sruoga A, Zalakevicius M (2013) Molecular and morphological investigations of Sarcocystis corvusi sp. nov. from the jackdaw (Corvus monedula). Parasitol Res 112:1163–1167. doi:10.1007/s00436-012-3247-5
Prakas P, Kutkienė L, Butkauskas D, Sruoga A, Zalakevicius (2014a) Description of Sarcocystis lari sp. n. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the great black-backed gull, Larus marinus (Charadriiformes: Laridae), on the basis of cyst morphology and molecular data. Folia Parasitol 61:11–17. doi:10.14411/fp.2014.002
Prakas P, Oksanen A, Butkauskas D, Sruoga A, Kutkienė L, Svažas S, Isomursu M, Liaugaudaitė S (2014b) Identification and intraspecific genetic diversity of Sarcocystis rileyi from ducks, Anas spp., in Lithuania and Finland. J Parasitol. doi:10.1645/13-395.1
Rimoldi G, Speer B, Wellehan JF Jr, Bradway DS, Wright L, Reavill D, Barr BC, Childress A, Shivaprasad HL, Chin RP (2013) An outbreak of Sarcocystis calchasi encephalitis in multiple psittacine species within an enclosed zoological aviary. J Vet Diagn Invest 25:775–781. doi:10.1177/1040638713502981
Stiles CW (1893) On the presence of sarcosporidia in birds. USDA Bur Anim Ind Bull 3:79–89
Tamura K, Peterson D, Peterson N, Stecher G, Nei M, Kumar S (2011) MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Mol Biol Evol 28:2731–2739. doi:10.1093/molbev/msr121
Wicht RJ (1981) Transmission of Sarcocystis rileyi to the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). J Wildl Dis 17:387–388. doi:10.7589/0090-3558-17.3.387
Wünschmann A, Rejmanek D, Conrad PA, Hall N, Cruz-Martinez L, Vaughn SB, Barr BC (2010) Natural fatal Sarcocystis falcatula infections in free-ranging eagles in North America. J Vet Diagn Invest 22:282–289. doi:10.1177/104063871002200222
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gjerde, B. Molecular characterisation of Sarcocystis rileyi from a common eider (Somateria mollissima) in Norway. Parasitol Res 113, 3501–3509 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4062-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4062-y