Description, life cycle, and development of the myxozoan n. sp. in fathead minnows, : A possible emerging pathogen in southern Alberta, Canada.

Morphological, gene sequence, host tissue tropism, and life cycle characteristics were utilized to describe the myxozoan, n. sp. from fathead minnow, collected from reservoirs in southern Alberta.

Laboratory tools for the direct detection of bacterial respiratory infections and antimicrobial resistance: a scoping review.

Rapid laboratory tests are urgently required to inform antimicrobial use in food animals. Our objective was to synthesize knowledge on the direct application of long-read metagenomic sequencing to respiratory samples to detect bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) compared to PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, and recombinase polymerase amplification. Our scoping review protocol followed the Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA Scoping Review reporting guidelines.

Animal granulins: In the GRN scheme of things.

Granulins are conserved in nearly all metazoans, with an intriguing loss in insects. These pleiotropic peptides are involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes yet have been overwhelmingly examined in mammalian systems. While work in other animal models has been informative, a richer understanding of the proteins should be obtained by integrating knowledge from all available contexts.

A cercarial invadolysin interferes with the host immune response and facilitates infection establishment of Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosoma mansoni employs immune evasion and immunosuppression to overcome immune responses mounted by its snail and human hosts. Myriad immunomodulating factors underlie this process, some of which are proteases. Here, we demonstrate that one protease, an invadolysin we have termed SmCI-1, is released from the acetabular glands of S.

Simplifying Schistosome Surveillance: Using Molecular Cercariometry to Detect and Quantify Cercariae in Water.

Avian schistosomes are considered a public health nuisance due to their ability to cause swimmer's itch when accidentally encountering humans rather than their intended avian hosts. Researchers have been monitoring their presence and abundance through snail collections and cercariometry. Cercariometry methods have evolved over the last several decades to detect individual schistosome species from a single water sample, simplifying the monitoring of these parasites.

Non-resident definitive host presence is sufficient to sustain avian schistosome populations.

To control swimmer's itch in northern Michigan inland lakes, USA, one species of bird, the common merganser (Mergus merganser), has been relocated from several lakes since 2015. Relocation efforts are driven by a desire to reduce the prevalence of the swimmer's itch-causing parasite Trichobilharzia stagnicolae. The intention of this state-sponsored control effort was to interrupt the life cycle of T.

Single-cell RNA-seq profiling of individual Biomphalaria glabrata immune cells with a focus on immunologically relevant transcripts.

The immune cells of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata are classified into hyalinocyte and granulocyte subtypes. Both subtypes are essential for the proper functioning of the snail immune response, which we understand best within the context of how it responds to challenge with the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Granulocytes are adherent phagocytic cells that possess conspicuous granules within the cell cytoplasm.

qPCR-based environmental monitoring of Myxobolus cerebralis and phylogenetic analysis of its tubificid hosts in Alberta, Canada.

Myxobolus cerebralis is the causative agent of whirling disease in salmonid fishes. In 2016, this invasive parasite was detected in Alberta, Canada, for the first time, initiating a comprehensive 3 yr monitoring program to assess where the parasite had spread within the province. As part of this program, a qPCR-based test was developed to facilitate detection of the environmental stages of M.

Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Indicators for Finfish Aquaculture Production: A Review.

Quantification and tracking of antimicrobial use (AMU) are key factors for the development of responsible antimicrobial stewardship programs and comparison between countries. Global finfish aquaculture growth and increased AMU creates the potential for exchange of antimicrobial resistance between aquatic and terrestrial environments, making AMU surveillance imperative for this industry. The objective of this review is to collate current literature on AMU surveillance indicators and their application to commercial finfish aquaculture production.

Immune Evasion Strategies of Schistosomes.

Human schistosomes combat the unique immune systems of two vastly different hosts during their indirect life cycles. In gastropod molluscs, they face a potent innate immune response composed of variable immune recognition molecules and highly phagocytic hemocytes. In humans, a wide variety of innate and adaptive immune processes exist in proximity to these parasites throughout their lifespan.

Evidence of a Putative Novel Species of Avian Schistosome Infecting Planorbella trivolvis.

Freshwater gastropods of the genera Lymnaea Lamarck, 1799, Physa Draparnaud, 1801, Gyraulus Charpentier, 1837, Radix Montfort, 1810, and Stagnicola Jeffreys, 1830 are considered suitable intermediate hosts for avian schistosomes. A large trematode biodiversity survey performed across 3 yr on 6 lakes in Alberta confirmed 3 already-reported snail hosts for 7 North American avian schistosomes; however, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) nucleotide sequence from 1 cercarial sample (from a single specimen of Planorbella trivolvis) was distinct from all other COI schistosome sequences. As part of a simultaneous, comparable study of P.

Environmental and ecological factors driving trematode parasite community assembly in central Alberta lakes.

Parasites have been neglected from most biodiversity surveys even though they are an essential component of ecosystems and intimately associated with the free-living communities within them. Parasites with complex life cycles, such as digenean trematode flatworms, utilize at least two host species within an ecosystem for their development and transmission, taking advantage of species networks to complete their life cycles. Despite this knowledge, our understanding of the processes that contribute to parasite community assembly, and which limit their geographic distributions, are rudimentary, including the importance of host diversity.

Democratizing water monitoring: Implementation of a community-based qPCR monitoring program for recreational water hazards.

Recreational water monitoring can be challenging due to the highly variable nature of pathogens and indicator concentrations, the myriad of potential biological hazards to measure for, and numerous access points, both official and unofficial, that are used for recreation. The aim of this study was to develop, deploy, and assess the effectiveness of a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) community-based monitoring (CBM) program for the assessment of bacterial and parasitic hazards in recreational water. This study developed methodologies for performing qPCR 'in the field,' then engaged with water management and monitoring groups and tested the method in a real-world implementation study to evaluate the accuracy of CBM using qPCR both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Granulin Increases Resistance to Infection in Several Species and Induces the Production of Reactive Oxygen Species by Haemocytes.

Gastropod molluscs, which have co-evolved with parasitic digenean trematodes for millions of years, utilize circulating heamocytes as the primary method of containing and killing these invading parasites. In order to do so, they must generate suitable amounts of haemocytes that are properly armed to kill parasitic worms. One method by which they generate the haemocytes required to initiate the appropriate cell mediated immune response is via the production and post-translational processing of granulins.

Concurrent Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium infections in a peri-urban community along the Weija dam in Ghana: A wake up call for effective National Control Programme.

Globally over 200 million people are infected with schistosomiasis, and approximately 80% are caused by just two of five species, Schistosoma haematobium and Schitosoma mansoni that are broadly distributed, and often overlap across sub-Saharan Africa. Like most neglected tropical diseases, mortality is low (an estimated 200,000 deaths annually) and morbidity is considerably high and probably underestimated. Surprisingly, little attention has been given to co-infection with these two species.

Species-specific qPCR assays allow for high-resolution population assessment of four species avian schistosome that cause swimmer's itch in recreational lakes.

Swimmer's itch is an allergic condition that occurs when the motile and infectious stage of avian schistosomes penetrate the skin of an individual. Flatworm parasites that cause swimmer's itch belong to the family Schistosomatidae. They utilize a variety of different species of bird and mammal as definitive hosts, and rely on different species of snail, in which they complete their larval development to culminate in a motile, aquatic, infectious stage called a cercaria.

A fine-scale phylogenetic assessment of digenean trematodes in central Alberta reveals we have yet to uncover their total diversity.

Despite over 100 years of digenean trematode parasite species descriptions, from a wide diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate host species, our ability to recognize the diversity of trematode species within a single lake remains an incredible challenge. The most challenging aspect is the identification of species from larval stages derived from intermediate hosts, due to the disjointed data of adult worm morphological descriptions, from which species are named, and links to corresponding molecular identifiers in depauperate databases. Cryptic species also play a significant role in the challenge of linking trematode larvae to adults, species identifications, and estimating diversity.

Evaluation of targeted copper sulfate (CuSO) application for controlling swimmer's itch at a freshwater recreation site in Michigan.

Swimmer's itch has historically been controlled by applying copper sulfate (CuSO) to lakes as a way to eliminate snails that serve as the intermediate hosts for swimmer's itch-causing parasites. CuSO is still sometimes applied specifically to areas of lakes where swimmer's itch severity is high. It is unclear whether targeted application of chemical molluscicides like CuSO is effective for controlling swimmer's itch.

A metalloprotease produced by larval Schistosoma mansoni facilitates infection establishment and maintenance in the snail host by interfering with immune cell function.

Metalloproteases (MPs) have demonstrated roles in immune modulation. In some cases, these enzymes are produced by parasites to influence host immune responses such that parasite infection is facilitated. One of the best examples of parasite-mediated immune modulation is the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) leishmanolysin (Gp63), which is produced by species of the genus Leishmania to evade killing by host macrophages.

Swimmer's itch in Canada: a look at the past and a survey of the present to plan for the future.

Background: Cercarial dermatitis, colloquially "swimmer's itch", is a rash contracted in natural bodies of water, when people are exposed to skin-penetrating, larval flatworm parasites of the family Schistosomatidae, that emerge from aquatic snails. Swimmer's itch is a globally-distributed, allergic condition, of which we know very little regarding local dynamics of transmission. This study aims to gather relevant information on swimmer's itch in Canada, from multiple perspectives, including the human experience, parasite and host presence and distributions, and insight from historical perspectives.

Use of qPCR-Based Cercariometry to Assess Swimmer's Itch in Recreational Lakes.

Swimmer's itch (cercarial dermatitis) is a nuisance encountered by bathers and recreational water users worldwide. The condition is caused by the penetration of larval digenean trematodes (cercariae) of the family Schistosomatidae, into the skin, following their release into freshwater from pulmonate snails that serve as the intermediate hosts for these parasites. This study utilizes qPCR-based cercariometry to monitor and quantify cercariae from water samples collected at 5 lakes in northern Michigan.

Corrigendum: Whole genome analysis of a schistosomiasis-transmitting freshwater snail.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15451.

Schistosomiasis from a Snail's Perspective: Advances in Snail Immunity.

The snail's immune response is an important determinant of schistosome infection success, acting in concert with host, parasite, and environmental factors. Coordinated by haemocytes and humoral factors, it possesses immunological hallmarks such as pattern recognition receptors, and predicted gastropod-unique factors like the immunoglobulin superfamily domain-containing fibrinogen-related proteins. Investigations into mechanisms that underpin snail-schistosome compatibility have advanced quickly, contributing functional insight to many observational studies.

The protein pheromone temptin is an attractant of the gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata.

The freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata has drawn much research interest by virtue of it being one of the intermediate hosts of the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni, a causative agent of human schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease that affects over 260 million people globally, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. One strategy that has been proposed as a way to prevent human infection by the parasite, involves the use of pheromone traps to lure the snail host away from areas of human activity.

Molecular and morphological evidence for nine species in North American Australapatemon (Sudarikov, 1959): a phylogeny expansion with description of the zygocercous Australapatemon mclaughlini n. sp.

Zygocercous (aggregating) cercarial larvae were recently discovered emerging from a physid snail during a molecular survey of cercariae from molluscs in lakes in central Alberta, Canada. This manuscript delves into the characterization of these cercariae through morphological and molecular techniques and provides the first genetic information for a zygocercous larval trematode. Analyses of cytochrome c oxidase I of mitochondrial DNA and two partial regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences revealed the zygocercous cercariae to belong to the genus Australapatemon Sudarikov, 1959.