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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 #418594
Research Project: Foodborne Parasites and their Impact on Food Safety

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: Molecular confirmation of wolf (Canis lupus) as a natural definitive host for Sarcocystis cruzi of cattle, Sarcocystis mehlhorni of deer and Sarcocystis wenzeli of chickens

Author
item GUPTA, ADITYA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item ARAUJO, LARISSA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item HUMPAL, CAROLIN - Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources
item CARSTENSEN, MICHELLE - Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item Dubey, Jitender

Submitted to: Parasitology Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2024
Publication Date: 12/11/2024
Citation: Gupta, A., Araujo, L., Humpal, C., Carstensen, M., Rosenthal, B.M., Dubey, J.P. 2024. Molecular confirmation of wolf (Canis lupus) as a natural definitive host for Sarcocystis cruzi of cattle, Sarcocystis mehlhorni of deer and Sarcocystis wenzeli of chickens. Parasitology Research. 110(6):679-683. https://doi.org/10.1645/24-120.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1645/24-120

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 hervibores infected with Sarcocystis and the herviborous host becomes infected by cosuming food and water contaminated with infected carnivore feces. Some species of Sarcocystis cause illness in livestock and some species are zoonotic. Of the several species of Sarcocystis in cattle, Sarcocystis cruzi is ubiquitous and the most pathogenic. In some surveys, 100% of cattle were found to have evidence of exposure and encysted stage (sarcocyst) in muscle in many countries, including the United States. The bases for such ubiquitous transmission are not fully understood. One reason is that several definitive hosts contribute. Here, the authors have identified for the first time in USA that gray wolf (Canis lupus), a natural predator of cattle, can act as definitive host (reservoir) for S. cruzi of cattle and act as definitive host for Sarcocystis species in deer and chickens. These findings will be of interest to parasitologists, veterinarians, wildlife biologists, livestock growers.

Technical Abstract: As predators of a wide variety of livestock and wildlife species, wolves (Canis lupus) could conceivably serve as definitive hosts for species of Sarcocystis parasites infecting many intermediate hosts. Parasites in this genus have been observed in the feces and intestinal scrapings of wolves before, but genetic tools have not yet definitively identified which species of parasites they harbor, impairing understanding of their contribution to infections in wild and domesticated intermediate hosts. Therefore, we genetically characterized sporocysts derived from a small sample of wolves in Minnesota. Doing so established evidence that wolves are capable of transmitting Sarcocystis cruzi to cattle (Bos taurus), Sarcocystis melhorni to black tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and Sarcocystis wenzeli to chickens (Gallus domesticus. Although far less abundant than domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris), which also serve as definitive hosts for such parasites, the wide range and appetite of wolves may lend themselves as a source of infection for cattle, deer, and chickens.