Henry C, Brym M Z, Kalyanasundaram A, Kendall R J
The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory,Texas Tech University,Box 43290, Lubbock,Texas,79409-3290,USA.
J Helminthol. 2019 Mar;93(2):166-171. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X18000111. Epub 2018 Mar 13.
Aulonocephalus pennula is a heteroxenous nematode that commonly infects a declining game bird, the northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). There is a lack of information on the life cycle of A. pennula and the potential effects of infection on bobwhites. In order to better understand the life cycle of this parasite, various species from the order Orthoptera were collected from a field site in Mitchell County, Texas. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nine potential intermediate hosts were identified from the 35 orthopteran species collected. Later, ten live specimens were collected to identify larvae within the potential intermediate hosts. Larvae were present in three of these and were sent for sequencing. Similarly, the presence of larvae was confirmed from extra tissues of samples identified as positive with PCR. This was the first study to document potential intermediate hosts, but future studies are needed to confirm that these species are capable of transmitting infection to bobwhite. However, this study demonstrates that PCR has increased sensitivity and may be a valuable tool when determining intermediate hosts.
细头线虫是一种异宿主线虫，通常感染数量正在减少的猎鸟——北部鲍勃白鹌鹑（Colinus virginianus）。目前缺乏关于细头线虫生命周期以及感染对鲍勃白鹌鹑潜在影响的信息。为了更好地了解这种寄生虫的生命周期，从得克萨斯州米切尔县的一个野外地点采集了直翅目昆虫的多个物种。使用聚合酶链反应（PCR），从采集的35种直翅目昆虫中鉴定出9种潜在中间宿主。后来，收集了10个活体标本，以鉴定潜在中间宿主体内的幼虫。其中3个标本体内有幼虫，并送去进行测序。同样，从经PCR鉴定为阳性的样本的额外组织中也证实了幼虫的存在。这是第一项记录潜在中间宿主的研究，但未来还需要研究来确认这些物种是否能够将感染传播给鲍勃白鹌鹑。然而，这项研究表明，PCR的灵敏度有所提高，在确定中间宿主时可能是一种有价值的工具。
