title: First record of metacestodes of Mesocestoides sp. in the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in Europe, with an 18S rDNA characterisation of the isolate.
abstract: Metacestodes of Mesocestoides sp. were recorded from Sturnus vulgaris (Passeriformes: Stumidae) in the Czech Republic in April 2002. They were found in a cutaneous cyst and in the thoracic region of the body cavity of the bird. This is the first record of metacestodes of Mesocestoides sp. in this host species in Europe as well as the first finding of the formation of a cutaneous cyst provoked by this parasite. Additional specimens from Apodemus agrarius (Mammalia: Rodentia) from Bulgaria and Lacerta agilis (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Czech Republic were compared with that from S. vulgaris. Sequence data from the V4 variable region (18S rDNA) were used to compare genetic variability among these and previously characterized isolates of Mesocestoides spp. A number of distinct clades were recognized, with metacestodes from L. agilis showing the highest degree of relative divergence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackého 1-3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic. literaki@vfu.cz
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Literák
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Boyko B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Georgiev
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spakulová
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002589:Cestoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D020308:Songbirds / Q000469:parasitology*; D013909:Thorax / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S