title: Prevalence to Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis spp. in a reintroduced fisher (Martes pennanti) population in Pennsylvania.
abstract: Understanding the role of disease in population regulation is important to the conservation of wildlife. We evaluated the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii exposure and Sarcocystis spp. infection in 46 road-killed and accidentally trapper-killed fisher (Martes pennanti) carcasses collected and stored at -20 C by the Pennsylvania Game Commission from February 2002 to October 2008. Blood samples were assayed for T. gondii antibodies using the modified agglutination test (MAT, 1 : 25) and an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT, 1 : 128). For genetic analysis, DNA samples were extracted from thoracic and pelvic limb skeletal muscle from each carcass to test for Sarcocystis spp. using 18s-rRNA PCR primers. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 100% (38 of 38) of the fishers tested by MAT and in 71% (32 of 45) of the fishers tested by IFAT. PCR analysis revealed that 83% (38 of 46) of the fishers were positive for Sarcocystis spp. Sequence analysis of 7 randomly chosen amplicons revealed the fisher sarcocysts had a 98.3% to 99.1% identity to several avian Sarcocystis spp. sequences in GenBank. Data from our study suggest that a high percentage of fishers in Pennsylvania have been exposed to T. gondii and are infected with Sarcocystis spp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 975 Oakland Ave., Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705, USA. larkin@iup.edu
authors.forename: Jeffery L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.forename: Mourad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Gerhold
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Yabsley
authors.forename: Jennifer Christine
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wester
authors.forename: Jan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beckstead
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dubey
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000469:parasitology; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012523:Sarcocystosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D016054:DNA, Protozoan