Morphological and molecular identification of Dirofilaria immitis from Jackal (Canis aureus) in North Khorasan, northeast Iran.

J Vector Borne Dis

Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI); Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Published: December 2015

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study reports the first occurrence of the heartworm Dirofilaria immitis in wild canids (golden jackals, foxes, dogs, and a wolf) in North Khorasan Province, Iran, highlighting its role as a zoonotic parasite causing cardiopulmonary issues.
  • In a necropsy of 77 wild canids conducted between 2013 and 2014, adult heartworms were found in 8.9% of the examined jackals, confirming their presence based on both morphological and molecular characteristics.
  • The findings indicate that this parasite is circulating in the local wildlife, emphasizing the need for control programs to mitigate the risk of transmission to humans and domestic pets.

Article Abstract

Background & Objectives: The heartworm Dirofilaria immitis is an important mosquito-borne zoonotic nematode of domestic and wild mammals throughout the world, causing cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis. This parasite has been reported from carnivores in some provinces of Iran. However, in the present study, the occurrence of this filarial nematode is reported for the first time in wild canids of the North Khorasan Province, located in northeast Iran, based on morphological and molecular characteristics.

Methods: The carcasses of 45 golden jackals (Canis aureus), 16 foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 15 dogs (Canis familiaris), and one wolf (Canis lupus) were necropsied between 2013 and 2014.

Results: By gross examination, adult filarial nematodes were found in the cardiovascular system of four jackals (8.9%). The morphological characteristics of the recovered heartworms were compatible with D. immitis. DNA sequencing of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) gene of all four isolates was identical, showing 100% homology with several sequences registered in GenBank from other countries. No adult D. immitis was found in any of the other animals examined.

Interpretation & Conclusion: D. immitis is circulating in wildlife of the study area, suggesting the relevance of developing control programmes to prevent transmission of the disease to humans and domestic animals.

Download full-text PDF

Source

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

morphological molecular
8
dirofilaria immitis
8
canis aureus
8
north khorasan
8
northeast iran
8
immitis
5
molecular identification
4
identification dirofilaria
4
immitis jackal
4
canis
4

Similar Publications

Plant chloroplasts store starch during the day, which acts as a source of carbohydrates and energy at night. Starch granule initiation relies on the elongation of malto-oligosaccharide primers. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PROTEIN TARGETING TO STARCH 2 (PTST2) and STARCH SYNTHASE 4 (SS4) are essential for the selective binding and elongation of malto-oligosaccharide primers, respectively, and very few granules are initiated in their absence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Caves are a unique ecosystem that harbor diverse microorganisms, and provide a challenging environment to the dwelling microbial communities, which may boost gene expression and can lead to the production of inimitable bioactive natural products. In this study, we obtained 59 actinobacteria from four different caves located in Bahadurkhel, District Karak, Pakistan. On the basis of taxonomic characteristics, 30 isolates were selected and screened for secondary metabolites production and bioactivity profiling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The interplay between ribosomal protein (RP) composition and mitochondrial function is essential for energy homeostasis. Balanced RP production optimizes protein synthesis while minimizing energy costs, but its impact on mitochondrial functionality remains unclear. Here, we investigated haploinsufficiency for RP genes (rps-10, rpl-5, rpl-33, and rps-23) in Caenorhabditis elegans and corresponding reductions in human lymphoblast cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biomarkers.

Alzheimers Dement

December 2024

Department of Psychiatry, University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. Previous morphological studies have often associated LLD with atrophy within the medial temporal lobe (MTL), including the hippocampus. A number of previous studies have demonstrated the changes in several MTL subfields in LLD, such as the perirhinal cortex (PrC), cornu ammonis (CA), dentate gyrus (DG), subiculum and entorhinal cortex (EC), but with inconsistent results, which may be explained by the relatively low image resolution of the 3T scanner used in the previous studies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

a new species of deep-sea digenean, parasitizing the gallbladder of the "Bigeye grenadier" ( Günther, 1878) in the deep waters of the southeastern Pacific Ocean is described on the basis of morphological and molecular (28S rRNA) data. The new species is distinguishable from Yamaguti, 1940, the only other member of the genus, by its subterminal oral sucker, the position of the ovary and testes, the larger anterior seminal vesicle compared to the posterior one, and its larger eggs. In addition, the new species is a parasite of a deep-sea fish, whereas is a parasite of shallow-water fish.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!