Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden
Abstract Background Passerine birds are frequently infected with diverse haemosporidian parasites. While infections are traditionally considered benign in wild birds, recent studies demonstrated mortalities of passerine species due to exo-erythrocytic development of the parasites, which can damage o...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c100094a346246878f4d3910d3f0d807 2023-05-15T15:15:42+02:00 Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden Tanja Himmel Josef Harl Simone Pfanner Nora Nedorost Norbert Nowotny Herbert Weissenböck 2020-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 https://doaj.org/article/c100094a346246878f4d3910d3f0d807 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/c100094a346246878f4d3910d3f0d807 Malaria Journal, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2020) Plasmodium Haemoproteus Leucocytozoon Exo-erythrocytic stages Megalomeront Chromogenic in situ hybridization Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 2022-12-31T09:44:03Z Abstract Background Passerine birds are frequently infected with diverse haemosporidian parasites. While infections are traditionally considered benign in wild birds, recent studies demonstrated mortalities of passerine species due to exo-erythrocytic development of the parasites, which can damage organs in affected hosts. However, exo-erythrocytic development remains insufficiently investigated for most haemosporidian species and thus little is known about the virulence of tissue stages in wild passerine birds. The aim of the present study was to investigate natural haemosporidian infections in deceased Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) and to determine parasite burden and associated histological effects. Methods For molecular analysis, blood and tissue samples from 306 thrushes were screened for Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon parasites by nested PCR. For the detection of parasite stages in organ samples, tissue sections were subjected to chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) using genus- and species-specific probes targeting the rRNAs of parasites. Exo-erythrocytic parasite burden was semi-quantitatively assessed and histological lesions were evaluated in haematoxylin–eosin-stained sections. Results By PCR, 179 of 277 Eurasian blackbirds and 15 of 29 song thrushes were positive for haemosporidians. Parasites of all three genera were detected, with Plasmodium matutinum LINN1 and Plasmodium vaughani SYAT05 showing the highest prevalence. CISH revealed significant differences in exo-erythrocytic parasite burden between lineages in Eurasian blackbirds, with P. matutinum LINN1 frequently causing high exo-erythrocytic parasite burdens in various organs that were associated with histological alterations. Song thrushes infected with P. matutinum LINN1 and birds infected with other haemosporidian lineages showed mostly low exo-erythrocytic parasite burdens. Two Eurasian blackbirds infected with Leucocytozoon sp. TUMER01 showed megalomeronts in various organs that ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 19 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Plasmodium Haemoproteus Leucocytozoon Exo-erythrocytic stages Megalomeront Chromogenic in situ hybridization Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
spellingShingle |
Plasmodium Haemoproteus Leucocytozoon Exo-erythrocytic stages Megalomeront Chromogenic in situ hybridization Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Tanja Himmel Josef Harl Simone Pfanner Nora Nedorost Norbert Nowotny Herbert Weissenböck Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
topic_facet |
Plasmodium Haemoproteus Leucocytozoon Exo-erythrocytic stages Megalomeront Chromogenic in situ hybridization Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Passerine birds are frequently infected with diverse haemosporidian parasites. While infections are traditionally considered benign in wild birds, recent studies demonstrated mortalities of passerine species due to exo-erythrocytic development of the parasites, which can damage organs in affected hosts. However, exo-erythrocytic development remains insufficiently investigated for most haemosporidian species and thus little is known about the virulence of tissue stages in wild passerine birds. The aim of the present study was to investigate natural haemosporidian infections in deceased Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) and to determine parasite burden and associated histological effects. Methods For molecular analysis, blood and tissue samples from 306 thrushes were screened for Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon parasites by nested PCR. For the detection of parasite stages in organ samples, tissue sections were subjected to chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) using genus- and species-specific probes targeting the rRNAs of parasites. Exo-erythrocytic parasite burden was semi-quantitatively assessed and histological lesions were evaluated in haematoxylin–eosin-stained sections. Results By PCR, 179 of 277 Eurasian blackbirds and 15 of 29 song thrushes were positive for haemosporidians. Parasites of all three genera were detected, with Plasmodium matutinum LINN1 and Plasmodium vaughani SYAT05 showing the highest prevalence. CISH revealed significant differences in exo-erythrocytic parasite burden between lineages in Eurasian blackbirds, with P. matutinum LINN1 frequently causing high exo-erythrocytic parasite burdens in various organs that were associated with histological alterations. Song thrushes infected with P. matutinum LINN1 and birds infected with other haemosporidian lineages showed mostly low exo-erythrocytic parasite burdens. Two Eurasian blackbirds infected with Leucocytozoon sp. TUMER01 showed megalomeronts in various organs that ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tanja Himmel Josef Harl Simone Pfanner Nora Nedorost Norbert Nowotny Herbert Weissenböck |
author_facet |
Tanja Himmel Josef Harl Simone Pfanner Nora Nedorost Norbert Nowotny Herbert Weissenböck |
author_sort |
Tanja Himmel |
title |
Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
title_short |
Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
title_full |
Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
title_fullStr |
Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
title_full_unstemmed |
Haemosporidioses in wild Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
title_sort |
haemosporidioses in wild eurasian blackbirds (turdus merula) and song thrushes (t. philomelos): an in situ hybridization study with emphasis on exo-erythrocytic parasite burden |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 https://doaj.org/article/c100094a346246878f4d3910d3f0d807 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/c100094a346246878f4d3910d3f0d807 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3147-6 |
container_title |
Malaria Journal |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766346051601563648 |