Otranto Domenico, Lia Riccardo Paolo, Cantacessi Cinzia, Brianti Emanuele, Traversa Donato, Giannetto Salvatore
Department of Animal Health and Welfare of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima Km. 3, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
Parasitol Res. 2007 Sep;101(4):877-83. doi: 10.1007/s00436-007-0554-3. Epub 2007 May 7.
Filaria martis causes a poorly known subcutaneous filariosis in mustelids. Few information is available about lesions that F. martis causes in beech martens, on its morphology, biology and the occurrence of the infection. From 1997 to 2006, 29 beech martens from two sites of southern Italy (Sites A and B) have been necropsied. Ectoparasites and nematodes were collected and morphologically identified. A variable region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) of F. martis has been characterised to compare females presenting caudal tips smooth without spines (i.e. Morphotype 1-Mrph. 1) and with spines (i.e. Mrph. 2). All ticks collected were identified as Haemaphysalis erinacei. Eleven animals from Site A were found infected by F. martis nematodes in subcutaneous tissue in both membranous capsules or free under the inner skin surface. The most important morphological characters of F. martis have been reported and discussed. The molecular analysis showed 100% homology among cox1 sequences from Mrph. 1 and 2 thus indicating that the shape of female posterior edge may vary among specimens of F. martis. The results here presented provide new insights into the biology, ecology and morphological characteristics of this scantly known nematode.
貂丝虫可引起鼬科动物一种鲜为人知的皮下丝虫病。关于貂丝虫在松貂体内引起的病变、其形态学、生物学特性以及感染的发生情况，目前所知甚少。1997年至2006年期间，对来自意大利南部两个地点（A地和B地）的29只松貂进行了尸检。收集了体外寄生虫和线虫并进行形态学鉴定。对貂丝虫细胞色素c氧化酶亚基1（cox1）的一个可变区进行了特征分析，以比较尾部末端光滑无刺的雌虫（即形态型1 - Mrph. 1）和有刺的雌虫（即Mrph. 2）。所有采集到的蜱均被鉴定为刺猬血蜱。在A地的11只动物皮下组织的膜状囊内或紧贴皮肤内表面发现有貂丝虫线虫感染。报告并讨论了貂丝虫最重要的形态学特征。分子分析表明，形态型1和形态型2的cox1序列之间具有100%的同源性，因此表明貂丝虫雌虫后缘的形状在不同标本中可能会有所不同。本文给出的结果为这种鲜为人知的线虫的生物学、生态学和形态学特征提供了新的见解。
