Cyclic transmission of Sarcocystis gerbilliechis n. sp. by the Arabian saw-scaled viper, Echis coloratus, to rodents of the subfamily gerbillinae.
Infection experiments with rodents and snakes were performed to elucidate the life cycle of a Sarcocystis isolate found in an Arabian saw-scaled viper, Echis coloratus. Oocytes in feces of the naturally infected and of 2 experimentally infected Arabian saw-scaled vipers were already sporulated and contained 2 sporocysts each, measuring 12.7 (12.3-13.3) microns x 11.0 (10.7-11.4) microns. After oral inoculation of various rodent species with these sporocysts, sarcocysts developed in the esophagus and skeletal muscles of gerbils and related genera. Mature sarcocysts were filiform in shape and reached a maximum length of 11.7 mm after 5 mo postinoculation (PI), whereas the width did not exceed 190 microns. The primary cyst wall formed small, knoblike protrusions, which were up to 180 nm long and 120 nm wide. Mature schizonts were present in the liver and other organs of gerbils between 11 and 14 days PI. After inoculation of vipers of 3 different genera with mature sarcocysts from gerbils, oocysts developed in the intestine of Arabian saw-scaled vipers. A comparison of these data with those from previously described Sarcocystis species with snake-rodent life cycles suggests that Sarcocystis gerbilliechis is a new species.
Jäkel
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Division of Parasitology (Department of Zoology), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005849:Gerbillinae / Q000469:parasitology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D012377:Rodentia; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012523:Sarcocystosis / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D013045:Species Specificity; D017819:Viperidae / Q000469:parasitology*