Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
Parasitol Res. 2023 Jul;122(7):1573-1579. doi: 10.1007/s00436-023-07860-0. Epub 2023 May 4.
An ant-pathogenic neogregarine in Temnothorax affinis and T. parvulus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is described based on morphological and ultrastructural characteristics. The pathogen infects the hypodermis of the ants. The infection was mainly synchronous so that only gametocysts and oocysts could be observed simultaneously in the host body. Gametogamy resulted in the formation of two oocysts within a gametocyst. The lemon-shaped oocysts measured 11-13 μm in length and 8-10 μm in width. The surface of the oocysts is not smooth but contains many buds. A ring-shaped line containing rosary-arrayed buds line up in the equatorial plane of the oocyst. These specific characteristics were observed for the first time in neogregarine oocysts from ants. Polar plugs were recognizable clearly by light and electron microscopy. The oocyst wall was quite thick, measuring 775 to 1000 nm. Each oocyst contained eight sporozoites. The neogregarines in the two Temnothorax species show many similarities such as the size and shape of the oocysts, a relatively fragile gametocyst membrane, host affinity, and tissue preference. We identified these neogregarines as Mattesia cf. geminata, which is here recorded from natural ant populations in the Old World for the first time. All neogregarine pathogens infecting ants in nature so far have been recorded from the New World. We present the two ant species, Temnothorax affinis and T. parvulus, as new natural hosts for M. cf. geminata. Furthermore, the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the oocyst of M. cf. geminata are documented by scanning and transmission electron microscopy for the first time.
描述了一种寄生于 Temnothorax affinis 和 T. parvulus（膜翅目：蚁科）中的抗蚁新格虫，依据的是形态学和超微结构特征。该病原体感染蚂蚁的真皮层。感染主要是同步的，因此在宿主体内只能同时观察到配子囊和卵囊。配子生殖导致一个配子囊内形成两个卵囊。柠檬形的卵囊长 11-13μm，宽 8-10μm。卵囊表面不光滑，而是含有许多芽。在卵囊的赤道平面上，排列着一条包含珠状芽的环形线。这些特有特征在蚂蚁的新格虫卵囊中是首次观察到的。在光镜和电子显微镜下都可以清楚地识别极栓。卵囊壁非常厚，厚 775 至 1000nm。每个卵囊含有 8 个孢子。这两种 Temnothorax 物种中的新格虫在卵囊的大小和形状、相对脆弱的配子囊膜、宿主亲和性和组织偏好等方面表现出许多相似性。我们将这些新格虫鉴定为 Mattesia cf. geminata，这是首次在新世界的自然蚁群中记录到这种新格虫。迄今为止，在自然界中感染蚂蚁的所有新格虫病原体都记录在新大陆。我们提出的两种蚂蚁物种，Temnothorax affinis 和 T. parvulus，是 M. cf. geminata 的新的天然宿主。此外，Mattesia cf. geminata 的卵囊的形态学和超微结构特征首次通过扫描和透射电子显微镜进行了记录。
