Morphological and molecular characterization of Aspiculuris tetraptera (nematoda: Heteroxynematidae) from Mus musculus (rodentia: Muridae) in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Aspiculuris tetraptera a pinworm of mice, is an important parasite in institutions with mice colonies for both research and teaching purposes. Infection with this parasite has impact on biomedical research. This is likely due to the availability of the parasite’s eggs in the environment, therefore can easily be transmitted and infection is generally asymptomatic. No information regarding the prevalence, morphology or phylogeny is available on A. tetraptera from Saudi Arabia. A group of 50 laboratory mice were investigated for the presence of A. tetraptera. Worms were described morphologically and molecular characterization was attempted using 18S rRNA and Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I genes. The prevalence of A. tetraptera infestation in the laboratory mice examined was found to be 46%. Morphological description indicated that the worms belong to A. tetraptera and this was confirmed by molecular characterization. Both regions studied have shown that the worm under investigation grouped with A. tetraptera. 18S rDNA sequences obtained in the present study showed high identity with sequences from A. tetraptera while Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I gene (COI) sequences showed intraspecific variation resulted into two haplotypes from the isolates in the present study. A. tetraptera was recorded for the first time from Saudi Arabia. Molecular characterization has shown, based on the COI sequences, that the Saudi isolates of A. tetraptera are distinct.

The Assessment of the Anthelmintic Activity of Laurus nobilis Extract in Mice Naturally Infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera

“…They can persist for weeks outside the host and take 6-7 days at 24C to become contagious (Stepek et al, 2006). Observations on naturally acquired and experimental oxyuroid infection with A. tetraptera clearly show significant differences in drug resistance and susceptibility between mouse strains (Omer et al, 2020). So, infection in laboratory mice cannot be prevented and animals will remain infected if left untreated.…”

Morphological and molecular studies on a nematode parasite, Syphacia obvelata, infecting laboratory mice (Mus musculus) in Saudi Arabia

“…The primary discriminating tool among these nematodes was based on morphological examination of male worms which include the presence/absence of gubernaculum, shape and size of spicules, number and form of mamelons and cloacal papillae (Landaeta-Aqueveque et al, 2007;Dewi et al, 2014;Khalil et al, 2014;Abdel-Gaber, 2016;Behnke et al, 2022). Regarding the insufficient criteria to differentiate between pinworms, molecular advanced tools have been recently used to discriminate closely related oxyurid species (Cao et al, 2020;Omer et al, 2020). The nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S) (Abdel-Gaber, 2016;Stewart et al, 2018) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) (Okamoto et al, 2007;Stewart et al, 2018) were used for molecular identification of Syphacia species.…”

Fauna Helmíntica De Aves

“…Because they are parasites with relevance to the health of wild fauna, the present study seeks, through a bibliographical survey, to carry out a literature review of the morphological aspects of the helminth fauna of birds. Aspiculuris tetraptera considerada parasito natural e comum em intestino de camundongos(JAROŠOVÁ et al, 2019;OMER et al, 2020).O primeiro estágio larval desse parasito penetra e permanece na submucosa do colón animal após a ingestão de alimentos contaminados por ovos ou por coprofagia. Ao atingir o terceiro estágio larval, eles retornam para o lúmen do intestino e se desenvolvem para a fase adulta(JAROŠOVÁ et al, 2019).…”