High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment?
Toxoplasma gondii causes one of the most frequent parasitic infections in vertebrates on earth. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence of T. gondii infection in cat-hunted wild small mammals, and to determine the circulating T. gondii genotypes in cat prey. There is evidence suggesting tha...
Published in: | International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 https://doaj.org/article/efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 2023-05-15T17:12:39+02:00 High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? Miguel Pardo Gil Daniel Hegglin Thomas Briner Maja Ruetten Norbert Müller Gastón Moré Caroline F. Frey Peter Deplazes Walter Basso 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 https://doaj.org/article/efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221322442300007X https://doaj.org/toc/2213-2244 2213-2244 doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 https://doaj.org/article/efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, Vol 20, Iss , Pp 108-116 (2023) Toxoplasma gondii Taenia taeniaeformis Parasite-host manipulation Arvicola Genotyping Zoology QL1-991 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 2023-01-29T01:26:47Z Toxoplasma gondii causes one of the most frequent parasitic infections in vertebrates on earth. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence of T. gondii infection in cat-hunted wild small mammals, and to determine the circulating T. gondii genotypes in cat prey. There is evidence suggesting that T. gondii may manipulate rodents' behaviour enhancing transmission to their definitive feline host by facilitating predation. Given that most studies focusing on rodent behavior have been performed under laboratory conditions, we tested this hypothesis in the natural environment. We analysed 157 cat-hunted wild small mammals of six different species from Switzerland. Brain and skeletal muscle samples from each animal were tested for T. gondii DNA by PCR, and positive samples were genotyped using a multilocus sequence typing approach, including 10 genetic markers. Additionally, to evaluate exposure to cat faeces, the presence of Taenia taeniaeformis metacestodes was investigated at necropsy. The prevalence of T. gondii in cat-hunted Arvicola amphibius s.l. was 11.1% (7/63), 14.6% (7/48) in Apodemus spp., 13.6% (3/22) in Myodes glareolus, 6.7% (1/15) in Crocidura russula, and 0% in Microtus arvalis (0/8) and Sorex sp. (0/1). All completely genotyped T. gondii parasites, exhibited the ToxoDB #3 genotype, a Type II variant. We additionally analysed 48 trap-captured A. amphibius s.l., which all tested negative for T. gondii infection, contrasting with the higher prevalence in cat-hunted A. amphibius s.l. (0% vs. 11.1%; p = 0.0176). Furthermore, T. taeniaeformis was detected in both groups, indicating widespread contamination with cat faeces in the sampled areas. These results provide evidence that T. gondii infected rodents are at higher risk to be predated by cats and therewith support the behaviour manipulation hypothesis. Article in Journal/Newspaper Microtus arvalis Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 20 108 116 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Toxoplasma gondii Taenia taeniaeformis Parasite-host manipulation Arvicola Genotyping Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Toxoplasma gondii Taenia taeniaeformis Parasite-host manipulation Arvicola Genotyping Zoology QL1-991 Miguel Pardo Gil Daniel Hegglin Thomas Briner Maja Ruetten Norbert Müller Gastón Moré Caroline F. Frey Peter Deplazes Walter Basso High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
topic_facet |
Toxoplasma gondii Taenia taeniaeformis Parasite-host manipulation Arvicola Genotyping Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Toxoplasma gondii causes one of the most frequent parasitic infections in vertebrates on earth. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence of T. gondii infection in cat-hunted wild small mammals, and to determine the circulating T. gondii genotypes in cat prey. There is evidence suggesting that T. gondii may manipulate rodents' behaviour enhancing transmission to their definitive feline host by facilitating predation. Given that most studies focusing on rodent behavior have been performed under laboratory conditions, we tested this hypothesis in the natural environment. We analysed 157 cat-hunted wild small mammals of six different species from Switzerland. Brain and skeletal muscle samples from each animal were tested for T. gondii DNA by PCR, and positive samples were genotyped using a multilocus sequence typing approach, including 10 genetic markers. Additionally, to evaluate exposure to cat faeces, the presence of Taenia taeniaeformis metacestodes was investigated at necropsy. The prevalence of T. gondii in cat-hunted Arvicola amphibius s.l. was 11.1% (7/63), 14.6% (7/48) in Apodemus spp., 13.6% (3/22) in Myodes glareolus, 6.7% (1/15) in Crocidura russula, and 0% in Microtus arvalis (0/8) and Sorex sp. (0/1). All completely genotyped T. gondii parasites, exhibited the ToxoDB #3 genotype, a Type II variant. We additionally analysed 48 trap-captured A. amphibius s.l., which all tested negative for T. gondii infection, contrasting with the higher prevalence in cat-hunted A. amphibius s.l. (0% vs. 11.1%; p = 0.0176). Furthermore, T. taeniaeformis was detected in both groups, indicating widespread contamination with cat faeces in the sampled areas. These results provide evidence that T. gondii infected rodents are at higher risk to be predated by cats and therewith support the behaviour manipulation hypothesis. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miguel Pardo Gil Daniel Hegglin Thomas Briner Maja Ruetten Norbert Müller Gastón Moré Caroline F. Frey Peter Deplazes Walter Basso |
author_facet |
Miguel Pardo Gil Daniel Hegglin Thomas Briner Maja Ruetten Norbert Müller Gastón Moré Caroline F. Frey Peter Deplazes Walter Basso |
author_sort |
Miguel Pardo Gil |
title |
High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
title_short |
High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
title_full |
High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
title_fullStr |
High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
title_full_unstemmed |
High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
title_sort |
high prevalence rates of toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 https://doaj.org/article/efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 |
genre |
Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Microtus arvalis |
op_source |
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, Vol 20, Iss , Pp 108-116 (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221322442300007X https://doaj.org/toc/2213-2244 2213-2244 doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 https://doaj.org/article/efdc21bac4b84c3dabd5eb80705f9d84 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007 |
container_title |
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
container_volume |
20 |
container_start_page |
108 |
op_container_end_page |
116 |
_version_ |
1766069431906074624 |