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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415933
Research Project: Foodborne Parasites and their Impact on Food Safety

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: Molecular and morphological characterization of Sarcocystis infections in the muscles of gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Minnesota suggest they may serve as reservoirs for infection in domesticated dogs

Author
item GUPTA, ADITYA - Orise Fellow
item ARAUJO, LARISSA - Orise Fellow
item CALERO-BERNAL, RAFAEL - Complutense University Of Madrid (UCM)
item HUMPAL, CAROLIN - Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources
item SCHRAGE, MIKE - Resource Management
item CARSTENSEN, MICHELLE - Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item Dubey, Jitender

Submitted to: Journal of Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/25/2024
Publication Date: 9/27/2024
Citation: Gupta, A., Araujo, L., Calero-Bernal, R., Humpal, C., Schrage, M., Carstensen, M., Rosenthal, B.M., Dubey, J.P. 2024. Molecular and morphological characterization of Sarcocystis infections in the muscles of gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Minnesota suggest they may serve as reservoirs for infection in domesticated dogs. Journal of Parasitology. 110(5):471-485. https://doi.org/10.1645/24-72.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1645/24-72

Interpretive Summary: Sarcocystis species are single-celled parasites of livestock and humans worldwide. Sarcocystis species have a 2-host prey-predator life cycle. Carnivores excrete an environmentally resistant stage in feces after eating meat of herbivores infected with Sarcocystis and the herbivorous host becomes infected by consuming food and water contaminated with infected carnivore feces. Some species of Sarcocystis cause illness in livestock and some species are zoonotic. Two species of Sarcocystis, Sarcocystis caninum and Sarcocystis svanai have been associated with severe muscle disease in dogs; life cycles of these species are unknown. Here, the authors found S. caninum and S. svanai -like parasites in muscles of 3 gray wolves from Minnesota and suggest that wolves might be a source of infections for domestic dogs. These findings will be of interests to veterinarian and wildlife biologists.

Technical Abstract: Sarcocystis infections were found for the first time in the muscles of 3 of 3 gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Minnesota. Two kinds (thin-walled and thick-walled) of sarcocysts were detected, based on the appearance of the sarcocyst wall. In wolf 1, sarcocysts were thin-walled (<0.5 µm), and without any visible protrusions. Ultrastructurally, the sarcocyst wall was type 1a and identical to Sarcocystis svanai of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). The second kind of sarcocyst, with a relatively thicker (>1 µm) sarcocyst wall, was detected in wolves 2 and 3. Ultrastructurally, the sarcocyst wall had undulating, pleomorphic villar protrusion of type 9c; these sarcocysts were identical to Sarcocystis caninum from the domestic dog. Molecularly, the 2 Sarcocystis species were characterized using 18S, 28S, COI, ITS-1, and rpoB genetic markers. All these markers showed 100% identity to either of the 2 species previously described from the domestic dog. The thick-walled sarococyst corresponded to Sarcocystis caninum, whereas the thin-walled sarcocyst corresponded to Sarcocystis svanai.