Microphallus turgidus

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Microphallus turgidus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Trematoda
Order: Plagiorchiida
Family: Microphallidae
Genus: Microphallus
Species:
M. turgidus
Binomial name
Microphallus turgidus
(Leigh, 1958) [1]
Synonyms

Carneophallus turgidus [2]

Microphallus turgidus is a widespread and locally common flatworm parasite in New Zealand lakes and streams. Multilocus allozyme genotype data show that Microphallus turgidus is a single outbred species with high levels of gene flow among South Island populations. [3] Microphallus turgidus is commonly found in the abdominal muscles of grass shrimp.

Contents

Life cycle

Microphallus turgidus exclusively uses the snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum as the first intermediate host, a shrimp as the secondary intermediate host, and the final hosts are typically waterfowl. Embryonated Microphallus turgidus eggs are ingested from sediment and hatch in the snail's gut, penetrate the intestine, and migrate to the gonads and digestive gland. Following successful establishment, the parasite then undergoes asexual reproduction, replacing much of the host's reproductive tissue and digestive gland, which results in complete sterilization of the snail. The first visible parasite developmental stages (blastocercariae) are detectable after approximately 75 days post-exposure and metacercariae are common by 90 days post-exposure at 16 °C in the lab. The life cycle continues through a secondary intermediate host, such as the glass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio , and is completed when the shrimp infected by the metacercariae are consumed by waterfowl or mammals. [4]

Host

Microphallus turgidus are more common in wild animals that live in salt marshes and are considered as definite host. The first intermediate host is the hydrobiid snail, on its immature form called a cercaria, it develops into snail. The most common is the second intermediate hosts, grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. Metacercariae of the parasite usually encyst in grass shrimp abdominal muscle, [5] and though adult P. pugio average only 2.9 cm in length, a shrimp can be infected with more than 100 parasites. [6]

Symptoms / effects

Numerous reports of changes in the host behavior after the parasitic infection influenced the host-parasite survival, host predation, and parasite transmission. Parasite induced behavior changes include hyperactivity, sluggishness, fatigue, disorientation, altered habitat selection, and reduced predator avoidance. In fact, it is rare are to find a locality where the grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio is not infected. [7]

At certain shrimp collection sites, near all specimens of P. pugio are infected, some with more than 100 parasites. The intensity of infection varies from one locality to another and may be due, at least partially, to geographic differences in salinity. [8] Heavily infected shrimp are more likely to be eaten by a predator than uninfected shrimp, have lower swimming stamina, and spend more time swimming and less time motionless in the presence of a predator. Thus, M. turgidus may increase the predation of P. pugio in the wild. [9]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Fasciola hepatica</i> Species of fluke

Fasciola hepatica, also known as shreya or the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic trematode of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans, and is transmitted by sheep and cattle to humans all over the world. The disease caused by the fluke is called fasciolosis or fascioliasis, which is a type of helminthiasis and has been classified as a neglected tropical disease. Fasciolosis is currently classified as a plant/food-borne trematode infection, often acquired through eating the parasite's metacercariae encysted on plants. F. hepatica, which is distributed worldwide, has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for decades and causes significant economic losses in these livestock species, up to £23 million in the UK alone. Because of its relatively large size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species. F. hepatica's closest relative is Fasciola gigantica. These two flukes are sister species; they share many morphological features and can mate with each other.

Microphallus is a genus of parasitic trematodes (flukes) in the family Microphallidae. The Greek name means "tiny penis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trematode life cycle stages</span>

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<i>Paragonimus westermani</i> Species of fluke

Paragonimus westermani is the most common species of lung fluke that infects humans, causing paragonimiasis. Human infections are most common in eastern Asia and in South America. Paragonimiasis may present as a sub-acute to chronic inflammatory disease of the lung. It was discovered by Coenraad Kerbert (1849–1927) in 1878.

<i>Echinostoma</i> Genus of flukes

Echinostoma is a genus of trematodes (flukes), which can infect both humans and other animals. These intestinal flukes have a three-host life cycle with snails or other aquatic organisms as intermediate hosts, and a variety of animals, including humans, as their definitive hosts.

<i>Paragonimus</i> Genus of flukes

Paragonimus is a genus of flukes (trematodes) and is the only genus in the monotypic family Paragonimidae. Some tens of species have been described, but they are difficult to distinguish, so it is not clear how many of the named species may be synonyms. The name Paragonimus is derived from the combination of two Greek words, “para” and “gonimos”. Several of the species are known as lung flukes. In humans some of the species occur as zoonoses; the term for the condition is paragonimiasis. The first intermediate hosts of Paragonimus include at least 54 species of freshwater snails from superfamilies Cerithioidea and Rissooidea.

<i>Brachylaima</i> Genus of flukes

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<i>Dicrocoelium dendriticum</i> Species of fluke

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<i>Leucochloridium paradoxum</i> Parasitic flatworm

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Euhaplorchis californiensis is a trophically transmitted parasite (TTP) that lives in the salt-water marshes of Southern California, United States. It lives in three hosts: shorebirds, horn snails, and killifish. As with many TTPs, E. californiensis modifies the behavior of the host to increase the likelihood of transmission to its next host.

Metagonimoides oregonensis is a trematode, or fluke worm, in the family Heterophyidae. This North American parasite is found primarily in the intestines of raccoons, American minks, frogs in the genus Rana, and freshwater snails in the genus Goniobasis. It was first described in 1931 by E. W. Price. The parasite has a large distribution, from Oregon to North Carolina. Adult flukes vary in host range and morphology dependent on the geographical location. This results in different life cycles, as well as intermediate hosts, across the United States. On the west coast, the intermediate host is freshwater snails (Goniobasis), while on the east coast the intermediate host is salamanders (Desmognathus). The parasites on the west coast are generally much larger than on the east coast. For example, the pharynx as well as the body of the parasite are distinctly larger in Oregon than in North Carolina. The reverse pattern is observed on the east coast for uterine eggs, which are larger on the west coast. In snails, there is also a higher rate of infection in female snails than in males. Research on the life history traits of the parasites have been performed with hamsters and frogs as model species.

<i>Leucochloridium variae</i> Species of fluke

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References

  1. Microphallus turgidus on uniprot.org/taxonomy
  2. Leigh, WH (1958), "Carneophallus turgidus sp. nov. (trematoda: Microphallidae) from the raccoon, Procyon lotor, in South Florida", The Journal of Parasitology, 44 (1): 100–2, doi:10.2307/3274837, JSTOR   3274837, PMID   13526074
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