NEW DEFINITIVE HOST RECORD FOR CHORDODES MORGANI (NEMATOMORPHA) IN NEBRASKA WITH NOTES ON ECOLOGY.

The life cycle and ecology of the horsehair worm Chordodes morgani (Nematomorpha) in Nebraska remain unknown. To identify its definitive host, we installed a series of pitfall traps along 3 first-order streams at 4 sites: Elk Creek, Upper Elk Creek, Maple Creek, and West Oak Creek, all located northwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition, we opportunistically hand-collected insects at these sites, including wood cockroaches (Parcoblatta virginica), and maintained them in the lab until they passed adult worms.

A New Species of Gordionus (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) from the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico.

The 19 genera within the phylum Nematomorpha contain approximately 350 species. The cosmopolitan genus Gordionus Müller, 1926 contains about 58 species, 6 of which occur in the contiguous United States of America. Recently, 2 new Gordionus species were described from high-altitude streams within the southern Rocky Mountains, near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

A new species of (Phylum Nematomorpha) from terrestrial habitats in North America.

Freshwater hairworms (class Gordiida) are members of the phylum Nematomorpha that use terrestrial arthropods as definitive hosts but reside as free-living adult worms in rivers, lakes, or streams. The genus consists of 90 described species, of which three species were described from freshwater habitats in North America. In this paper we describe a new species of from terrestrial habitats in Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, United States.

The in vivo transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni in the prominent vector species Biomphalaria pfeifferi with supporting observations from Biomphalaria glabrata.

Background: The full scope of the genes expressed by schistosomes during intramolluscan development has yet to be characterized. Understanding the gene products deployed by larval schistosomes in their snail hosts will provide insights into their establishment, maintenance, asexual reproduction, ability to castrate their hosts, and their prolific production of human-infective cercariae. Using the Illumina platform, the intramolluscan transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni was investigated in field-derived specimens of the prominent vector species Biomphalaria pfeifferi at 1 and 3 days post infection (d) and from snails shedding cercariae.

New hairworm (Nematomorpha, Gordiida) species described from the Arizona Madrean Sky Islands.

Gordiids, or freshwater hairworms, are members of the phylum Nematomorpha that use terrestrial definitive hosts (arthropods) and live as adults in rivers, lakes, or streams. The genus consists of 18 species, one of which was described from the Nearctic in 1851. More than 150 years later, we are describing a second species from a unique habitat within the Nearctic; the Madrean Sky Island complex.

Using Gordiid cysts to discover the hidden diversity, potential distribution, and new species of Gordiids (Phylum Nematomorpha).

In this study, we sampled aquatic snails for the presence of hairworm cysts from 46 streams in Payne County, Oklahoma. Gordiid cysts were found at 70 % (32/46) of sites examined. Based on cyst morphology, we were able to identify three morphological types of gordiid cysts, including Paragordius, Gordius, and Chordodes/Neochordodes.

Parasitism of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) by a New Species of Hairworm (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) in Arctic Canada.

The host-parasite associations between ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and hairworms (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) collected from the Arctic (an understudied and ecologically important region) is described. Carabids and their parasites were collected from 12 sites spanning the 3 northernmost ecoclimatic zones of Canada (north boreal, subarctic, and high Arctic) using standardized methods. The beetles and hairworms were identified using traditional morphological approaches.

Ancient and novel small RNA pathways compensate for the loss of piRNAs in multiple independent nematode lineages.

Small RNA pathways act at the front line of defence against transposable elements across the Eukaryota. In animals, Piwi interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are a crucial arm of this defence. However, the evolutionary relationships among piRNAs and other small RNA pathways targeting transposable elements are poorly resolved.

Cryptic species of hairworm parasites revealed by molecular data and crowdsourcing of specimen collections.

Recognizing cryptic species promotes a better understanding of biodiversity, systematics, evolutionary biology, and biogeography. When cryptic species are disease-causing organisms, such as parasites, their correct recognition has important implications for the study of epidemiology, disease ecology, and host-parasite relationships. Freshwater nematomorphs (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) or hairworms, are an enigmatic yet fascinating group of parasites that are known to manipulate host behavior to aid transition from the parasitic phase, within terrestrial insects, to the free-living aquatic stage.

Comparative descriptions of non-adult stages of four genera of Gordiids (Phylum: Nematomorpha).

Freshwater hairworms infect terrestrial arthropods as larvae but are free-living in aquatic habitats as adults. Estimates suggest that only 18% of hairworm species have been described globally and biodiversity studies on this group have been hindered by unreliable ways of collecting adult free living worms over large geographical areas. However, recent work indicates that non-adult cyst stages of hairworms may be the most commonly encountered stages of gordiids in the environment, and can be used for discovering the hidden diversity of this group.

Novel techniques for biodiversity studies of gordiids and description of a new species of Chordodes (Gordiida, Nematomorpha) from Kenya, Africa.

We review recent advances in the use of non-adult gordiid cyst stages to locate gordiids over large geographical regions and new culturing techniques which can help overcome current difficulties in nematomorph biodiversity studies. Using these techniques, we collected a new species of gordiid as cysts in aquatic snails (Biomphalaria pfeifferi) from the Lake Victoria Basin, western Kenya, Africa and cultured them in the laboratory. We describe the adult free-living male and female worms using morphological (light and scanning electron microscopy) and molecular data as well as the life cycle, mating and oviposition behavior, egg strings, eggs, larvae, and cysts of this new species.

Survival of larval and cyst stages of gordiids (Nematomorpha) after exposure to freezing.

Hairworms infect terrestrial arthropods and are 1 of the most understudied groups of parasites. Recently, life cycles of 2 gordiids (Paragordius varius and Paragordius obamai) have been domesticated in the laboratory. We tested the viability of laboratory reared and post-frozen larval and cyst stages of the North American gordiid, P.

Transcriptional analysis of Schistosoma mansoni treated with praziquantel in vitro.

Schistosomiasis is one of the foremost health problems in developing countries and has been estimated to account for the loss of up to 56 million annual disability-adjusted life years. Control of the disease relies almost exclusively on praziquantel (PZQ) but this drug does not kill juvenile worms during the early stages of infection or prevent post-treatment reinfection. As the use of PZQ continues to grow, there are fears that drug resistance may become problematic thus there is a need to develop a new generation of more broadly effective anti-schistosomal drugs, a task that will be made easier by having an understanding of why PZQ kills sexually mature worms but fails to kill juveniles.

Analysis of post-blood meal flight distances in mosquitoes utilizing zoo animal blood meals.

We assessed the post-blood meal flight distance of four mosquito species in a unique environment using blood meal analysis. Mosquitoes were trapped at the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, NM, and the blood source of blood-engorged mosquitoes was identified. The distance from the enclosure of the animal serving as a blood source to the trap site was then determined.

Going solo: discovery of the first parthenogenetic gordiid (Nematomorpha: Gordiida).

Despite the severe fitness costs associated with sexual reproduction, its persistence and pervasiveness among multicellular organisms testifies to its intrinsic, short-term advantages. However, the reproductive assurance hypothesis predicts selection favoring asexual reproduction in sparse populations and when mate finding is difficult. Difficulties in finding mates is especially common in parasites, whose life cycles involve multiple hosts, or being released from the host into the external environment where the parasite can find itself trapped without a sexual partner.

New records of nematomorph parasites (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and camel crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) in Washington State.

From 1998 to 2003, beetles and crickets infected with hairworms were collected from 4 localities within the Hanford Nuclear Site and the Hanford Reach National Monument, located in a shrub-steppe region of Washington State along the Columbia River. Infected hosts comprised 6 species of carabid beetles within 5 genera and 2 camel crickets within 1 genus; all are newly documented insect-nematomorph associations. A large proportion of the infected hosts (48%) were collected from a single site during a single collecting period.

Genotyping natural infections of Schistosoma mansoni in Biomphalaria alexandrina from Damietta, Egypt, with comparisons to natural snail infections from Kenya.

The distribution of Schistosoma genotypes among individuals in snail populations provides insights regarding the dynamics of transmission and compatibility between schistosome and snail hosts. A survey of Biomphalaria alexandrina from Damietta (Nile Delta, Egypt), an area subjected to persistent schistosomiasis control efforts, provided only 17 snails infected with Schistosoma mansoni (6.1% overall prevalence), each shown by microsatellite analysis to have a single genotype infection.

Schistosomes of small mammals from the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya: new species, familiar species, and implications for schistosomiasis control.

Recent schistosomiasis control efforts in sub-Saharan Africa have focused nearly exclusively on treatment of humans with praziquantel. However, the extent to which wild mammals act as reservoirs for Schistosoma mansoni and therefore as sources of renewed transmission following control efforts is poorly understood. With the objective to study the role of small mammals as reservoir hosts, 480 animals belonging to 9 rodent and 1 insectivore species were examined for infection with schistosomes in Kisumu, in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya.

Horsehair worms (Gordius robustus in nests of the western bluebird (Sialia mexicana): evidence for anti-predator avoidance?

Hairworms (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) are internal parasites that alter the behavior of their terrestrial insect host, forcing it to enter the water to reach its reproductive habitat. After reproduction of the free-living adults, the larvae encyst in aquatic insects and are retained upon metamorphosis of the insect into an adult fly. This paratenic host links the aquatic and terrestrial environments after its consumption by omnivorous or predatory insects.

Schistosoma kisumuensis n. sp. (Digenea: Schistosomatidae) from murid rodents in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya and its phylogenetic position within the S. haematobium species group.

Schistosoma kisumuensis n. sp. is described based on 6 adult males and 2 adult females collected from the circulatory system of 3 murid rodent species, Pelomys isseli, Mastomys natalensis, and Dasymys incomtus.

Genetic structure of Schistosoma mansoni in western Kenya: The effects of geography and host sharing.

We examined the spatial structure of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasite of humans, from natural infections at two levels: across the Lake Victoria basin of Kenya and among snail hosts. Using 20 microsatellite markers we examined geographic patterns of relatedness and population structure of cercariae and found weak, but significant structure detected by some, but not all analyses. We hypothesise structure created by aggregations of clonal individuals or adherence of hosts to local transmission sites is eroded by high amounts of gene flow in the region.

A new approach to characterize populations of Schistosoma mansoni from humans: development and assessment of microsatellite analysis of pooled miracidia.

Objectives: To develop and assess a microsatellite technique to characterize populations of Schistosoma mansoni from humans.

Methods: For each of five patients, we calculated the allele count and frequency at 11 loci for several pools of miracidia (50 and 100), and compared these to population values, determined by amplifying microsatellites from 186 to 200 individual miracidia per patient.

Results: We were able to detect up to 94.