Gupta Aditya, de Araujo Larissa S, Humpal Carolin, Carstensen Michelle, Rosenthal B M, Dubey J P
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Forest Wildlife Populations and Research, 1201 E. Highway 2, Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744.
J Parasitol. 2024 Dec 1;110(6):679-683. doi: 10.1645/24-120.
As predators of a wide variety of livestock and wildlife species, wolves (Canis lupus) could serve as definitive hosts for species of Sarcocystis parasites infecting many intermediate hosts. Sarcocystis sporocysts have been observed in the feces of wolves fed infected beef before, but genetic tools have not yet definitively identified which species of parasites they harbor, impairing understanding of their contribution to infections in wild and domesticated intermediate hosts. Therefore, we genetically characterized sporocysts derived from a small sample of naturally infected wolves in Minnesota. Doing so established evidence that wolves may excrete sporocysts and therefore transmit Sarcocystis cruzi to cattle (Bos taurus), Sarcocystis mehlhorni to black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), and Sarcocystis wenzeli to chickens (Gallus domesticus). Given their wide host range and appetite, wolves may serve as a source of infection for cattle, deer, and chickens.
作为多种家畜和野生动物的捕食者，狼（犬属狼种）可能是感染许多中间宿主的肉孢子虫属寄生虫的终末宿主。此前曾在喂食感染牛肉的狼的粪便中观察到肉孢子虫孢子囊，但遗传工具尚未明确鉴定出它们携带的是哪种寄生虫，这妨碍了对它们在野生和家养中间宿主感染中所起作用的理解。因此，我们对来自明尼苏达州一小部分自然感染狼的孢子囊进行了基因特征分析。这样做证实了狼可能排出孢子囊，从而将克鲁兹肉孢子虫传播给牛（黄牛），将梅氏肉孢子虫传播给黑尾鹿（哥伦比亚白尾鹿），并将温氏肉孢子虫传播给鸡（家鸡）。鉴于狼广泛的宿主范围和食量，它们可能是牛、鹿和鸡的感染源。
