Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Worm-Web Search: A Content-Based Image Retrieval (Cbir) System For The Parasite Image Collection In The Harold W. Manter Laboratory Of Parasitology, University Of Nebraska State Mueum, Ramalingamurthy Meduri, Ashok Samal, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

We have developed a prototype web-accessible content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system that allows internet/web-based sharing of biological collections that contain large numbers of images of archived specimens. This system will enable both researchers and educators to access verified, high quality data on biological collections that are available in any museum with digitized holdings. The CBIR system that we are testing can play an important role in understanding global biodiversity because no knowledge of the specific names of specimens need be known before useful information can be extracted from such databases. Our CBIR framework allows users to search image collections using …

Presentation Of The 2008 Asp Distinguished Service Award To William C. Campbell, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Presentation of the 2008 American Society of Parasitologists Distinguished Service Award to William C. Campbell, Dana Fellow for scientists emeriti at Drew University.

Ecological Niche Of The 2003 West Nile Virus Epidemic In The Northern Great Plains Of The United States, Michael Wimberly, Michael B. Hildreth, Stephen P. Boyte, Erik Lindquist, Lon Kightlinger

Public Health Resources

Background: The incidence of West Nile virus (WNv) has remained high in the northern Great Plains compared to the rest of the United States. However, the reasons for the sustained high risk of WNv transmission in this region have not been determined. To assess the environmental drivers of WNv in the northern Great Plains, we analyzed the county-level spatial pattern of human cases during the 2003 epidemic across a seven-state region.
Methodology/Principal Findings: County-level data on WNv cases were examined using spatial cluster analysis, and were used to fit statistical models with weather, climate, and land use variables as predictors. …

Acceptance Of The Clark P. Read Mentor Award: Students, Opportunity, Serendipity, And W.B. Yeats: "Education Is Not The Filling Of A Pail; It Is The Lighting Of A Fire", Donald W. Duszynski

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Transcript of the speech given by Donald W. Duszynski, of the University of New Mexico, upon acceptance of the American Society of Parasitologists' Clark P. Read Mentor Award, 2008.

How Does A Riverine Setting Affect The Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil?, Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, C. Jericó-Daminello, J. Filippini, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Endoparasites Of Fat-Tailed Mouse Opossums (Thylamys: Didelphidae) From Northwestern Argentina And Southern Bolivia, With The Description Of A New Species Of Tapeworm, F. Agustin Jimenez Ruiz, Janet K. Braun, Mariel Campbell, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

The parasite fauna of two species of fat-tailed mouse opossums from northwestern Argentina is herein presented. Five species of helminths were found, i.e., Pterygodermatites kozeki, Hoineffia simplispicula, Oligacanthorhynchus sp., and a new species of tapeworm, Mathevotaenia sanmartini n. sp. (Cyclophyllidea: Anoplocephalidae). The new species is characterized by a calyciform scolex, relatively few testes (32), and a long cirrus sac; it occurs in fat-tailed mouse opossums at localities above 4,000 m. Those characters make it different from 6 species known to occur in marsupials from the New World, and from other species occurring in armadillos and bats. Didelphoxyuris thylamisis …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 30, No. 3, Fall 2008, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

A New Species Of Lentiella (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From Proechimys Simonsi (Rodentia: Echimyidae) In Bolivia = Una Especie Nueva De Lentiella (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) De Proechimys Simonsi (Rodentia: Echimyidae) En Bolivia, Terry R. Haverkost, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

During a biodiversity survey of mammals and their parasites in the Beni, Bolivia in the summer of 2000, several spiny rats, Proechimys simonsi Thomas, 1900, were collected and examined for parasites. Herein we describe Lentiella lamothei n. sp. from one of these hosts. This species is can be distinguished from L. machadoi Rêgo, 1964 by having a greater total length but smaller maximum width, a greater number of segments, a smaller cirrus sac, a smaller scolex diameter, and in the eggs, a larger pyriform apparatus. In addition, we formally validate the genus Lentiella Rêgo, 1964, that had been placed in …

Intraretinal Signaling By Ganglion Cell Photoreceptors To Dopaminergic Amacrine Neurons, Dao-Qi Zhang, Kwoon Y. Wong, Patricia J. Sollars, David M. Berson, Gary E. Pickard, Douglas G. Mcmahon

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Retinal dopaminergic amacrine neurons (DA neurons) play a central role in reconfiguring retinal function according to prevailing illumination conditions, yet the mechanisms by which light regulates their activity are poorly understood. We investigated the means by which sustained light responses are evoked in DA neurons. Sustained light responses were driven by cationic currents and persisted in vitro and in vivo in the presence of L-AP4, a blocker of retinal ON-bipolar cells. Several characteristics of these L-AP4-resistant light responses suggested that they were driven by melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), including long latencies, marked poststimulus persistence, and a peak …

Regulation Of The Bioavailability Of Thioredoxin In The Lens By A Specific Thioredoxin-Binding Protein (Tbp-2), Namal P.M. Liyanage, M. Rohan Fernando, Marjorie F. Lou

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Thioredoxin (TRx) is known to control redox homeostasis in cells. In recent years, a specific TRx binding protein called thioredoxin binding protein-2 (TBP-2) was found in other cell types and it appeared to negatively regulate TRx bioavailability and thereby control TRx biological function. In view of the sensitivity of lens transparency to redox status, proper regulation of TRx bioavailability is of the utmost importance. This study was conducted to examine the presence and function of TBP-2 in human lens epithelial cells (HLE B3). We cloned human lens TBP-2 from a human cDNA library (GenBank accession number AY 594328) and showed …

The Systematic Position Of Lauroiinae Skrjabin And Schikhobalova, 1951 (Nemata: Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae), As Revealed By The Analysis Of Traits Used In Its Diagnosis, F. Agustin Jimenez-Ruiz, Scott Lyell Gardner, Dely Noronha, Roberto Magalhães Pinto

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

During our work on biodiversity of parasites of mammals of the Neotropics we collected numerous nematodes assignable to species of the family Aspidoderidae (Nemata: Heterakoidea). These nematodes occur as parasites of the cecum and large intestine of marsupials, rodents and xenarthrans (armadillos) only in the New World. As aspidoderid nematodes have been little studied beyond their alpha taxonomy, it is the purpose of the present paper to apply phylogenetic systematic methods to more completely understand the evolutionary relationships of the included species. Members of the aspidoderid subfamily Lauroiinae have had very little work applied to their systematic relationships and no …

Species Of Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) In Shrews From Alaska, U.S.A., And Northeastern Siberia, Russia, With Description Of Two New Species, A. J. Lynch, Donald W. Duszynski

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Fecal samples (n = 636) from 10 species of shrews collected in Alaska (n = 540) and northeastern Siberia (n = 96) were examined for the presence of coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae). Five distinct oocyst morphotypes were observed. Three types were consistent with oocysts of previously recognized coccidia species from other shrew hosts. These were Eimeria inyoni, E. vagrantis, and Isospora brevicauda, originally described from the inyo shrew (Sorex tenellus), dusky shrew (S. monticolus), and northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda), respectively. We found 5 new host records for E. …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 30, No. 2, Summer 2008, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

A Review Of Species In The Genus Rhopalias (Rudolphi, 1819), Terry R. Haverkost, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Currently, there are 6 recognized species in the genus Rhopalias. These parasites are found in the small intestines of numerous species of marsupials throughout North and South America. Small mistakes in various classical taxonomic works have given rise to recent and numerous misidentifications of these species. In this work, we examine a total of 99 specimens across all species from museum collections in an attempt to determine informative taxonomic characters to distinguish these species. Despite confusion in the literature, accurate identification of these species can be achieved by observing the presence or absence of oral and flanking spines anterior …

Stable Yellowhead Virus (Yhv) Rna Detection By Qrt-Pcr During Six-Day Storage, Hongwei Ma, Robin M. Overstreet, Jean A. Jovonovich

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Storage conditions of haemolymph samples which contain yellowhead virus (YHV) may result in a decline of YHV RNA concentration or false-negative results in the detection of YHV. We evaluated the stability of YHV RNA in haemolymph stored at different temperatures for 6 d with conventional RT-PCR and TaqMan qRT-PCR. Specific pathogen-free individuals of Litopenaeus vannamei were challenged with YHV92TH isolate, and haemolymph samples of 3 groups of 10 pooled moribund shrimp were aliquoted and stored at 4 and 25°C for 0, 2, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 h. All samples were evaluated by conventional RT-PCR and …

Parasites As Probes For Prehistoric Human Migrations?, Adauto Araújo, Karl J. Reinhard, Luiz Fernando Ferreira, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Host-specific parasites of humans are used to track ancient migrations. Based on archaeoparasitology, it is clear that humans entered the New World at least twice in ancient times. The archaeoparasitology of some intestinal parasites in the New World points to migration routes other than the Bering Land Bridge. Helminths have been found in mummies and coprolites in North and South America. Hookworms (Necator and Ancylostoma), whipworms (Trichuris trichiura) and other helminths require specific conditions for life-cycle completion. They could not survive in the cold climate of the northern region of the Americas. Therefore, humans would have …

Gregarines On A Diet: The Effects Of Host Starvation On Gregarina Confusa Janovy Et Al., 2007 (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) In Tribolium Destructor Uyttenboogaart, 1933 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Larvae, Jodi Schreurs, John J. Janovy Jr.

John Janovy Publications

This study was designed to explore the nutritional relationship between Gregarina confusa (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) parasites and its coleopteran host, Tribolium destructor, by measuring the cytoplasmic density of gregarines in continuously fed larvae, starved larvae, and larvae refed after starvation. Cultures were maintained in a standard media (whole wheat flour:commercial wheat germ:yeast [30:10:1]). Larvae from control and experimental groups were dissected daily for three days then allowed to feed or starve for an additional three days. On day 6, the remaining experimental larvae were divided and placed into two groups; one group remained starved while larvae from the second group …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 30, No. 1, Winter [I.E. Spring] 2008, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

New Genus And Species Of Aporocotylidae (Digenea) From A Basal Actinopterygian, The American Paddlefish, Polyodon Spathula, (Acipenseriformes: Polyodontidae) From The Mississippi Delta, Stephen A. Bullard, Scott D. Snyder, Kirsten Jensen, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Acipensericola petersoni n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) infects the heart of the American paddlefish Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792) in the Mississippi Delta. It has robust, spike-like body spines arranged in ventrolateral transverse rows; a bowl-shaped anterior sucker centered on the mouth and having minute spines on the inner anteroventral surface only; a pharynx; an inverse U-shaped ceca extending to near the posterior body end; intercecal testes comprising a pre-ovarian testicular column plus a single testis posteriorly; an extensively lobed ovary located medially and immediately posterior to the testicular column; a spherical ootype that is intercecal and post-ovarian; a Laurer’s …

Two Cyclocoelids From The Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa Flavipes (Scolopacidae), From The Central Flyway Of North America, Including The Description Of Haematotrephus Selfi N. Sp. (Digenea: Cyclocoelidae), Norman O. Dronen, Scott Lyell Gardner, F. Agustin Jimenez-Ruiz

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Seven specimens of cyclocoelids (6 specimens representing Haematotrephus selfi n. sp. and 1 specimen representing a second unidentified species of Haematotrephus) collected by the late Dr. J. Teague Self, former professor, Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A., from the body cavities of 3 lesser yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes, (2 birds collected from Roger Mills County, Oklahoma on 23 and 29 August 1963, and 1 collected from Manitoba, Canada on 3 June 1964) and deposited in the Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska are described. Haematotrephus selfi n. sp. can be distinguished from all …

A Tick From A Prehistoric Arizona Coprolite, Keith L. Johnson, Karl J. Reinhard, Luciana Sianto, Adauto Araújo, Scott Lyell Gardner, John J. Janovy Jr.

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Ticks have never been reported in archaeological analyses. Here, we present the discovery of a tick from a coprolite excavated from Antelope Cave in extreme northwest Arizona. Dietary analysis indicates that the coprolite has a human origin. This archaeological occupation is associated with the Ancestral Pueblo culture (Anasazi). This discovery supports previous hypotheses that ticks were a potential source of disease and that ectoparasites were eaten by ancient people.

The Role Of Phylogeny And Ecology In Experimental Host Specificity: Inisights From A Eugregarine-Host System, Jillian Tikka Detwiler, John J. Janovy Jr.

John Janovy Publications

The degree to which parasites use hosts is fundamental to host–parasite coevolution studies, yet difficult to assess and interpret in an evolutionary manner. Previous assessments of parasitism in eugregarine–host systems suggest high degrees of host specificity to particular host stages and host species; however, rarely have the evolutionary constraints on host specificity been studied experimentally. A series of experimental infections were conducted to determine the extent of host stadium specificity (larval vs. adult stage) and host specificity among 6 tenebrionid host species and 5 eugregarine parasite species. Eugregarines from all host species infected both the larva and adult stages of …

Experimental Inoculation Of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus) With Buggy Creek Virus, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Amy T. Moore, Nicholas A. Panella, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We performed experimental inoculations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) with Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), a poorly known alphavirus (Togaviridae) vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) that is an ectoparasite of the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow. Viremias were detected by plaque assay in two of six birds on days 1–3 postinoculation; viremia was highest on day 2. Viral RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in blood of six of 12 birds ranging from day 1 to day 15 postinoculation. Infectious BCRV was detected in …

Hamulonema Gen. Nov. For Teladorsagia Hamata And Ostertagia Kenyensis In The Ostertagiinae Fauna (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) From African Ungulates, Eric P. Hoberg, Arthur Abrams

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Hamulonema gen. nov. is proposed for Teladorsagia hamata and Ostertagia kenyensis in the ostertagiine nematode fauna found in artiodactyl hosts from Africa. Monomorphic species representing this genus are characterized by a bilaterally symmetrical and parallel synlophe in males and females, a 2-2-1 bursal formula, an accessory bursal membrane that is strongly cuticularized and reduced, a strongly reduced dorsal lobe and ray, and robust spicules with a simple, weakly pointed, ventral process, and curved, hooklike dorsal process. Species referred to Hamulonema nov. gen. are immediately distinguished from those of Camelostrongylus, Longistrongylus, Marshallagia, Orloffia, Ostertagia, and Pseudomarshallagia …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 30, No. 4, Winter 2008, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

Archaeoparasitology, Karl J. Reinhard, Adauto Araújo

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Parasites are the major cause of ill health and early death in the world today. Malaria, sleeping sickness, amoebic dysentery, and hookworm infection are examples of commonplace parasitic diseases that are endemic in most parts of the world (see Health, Healing, and Disease). They were significant threats in prehistory, especially in cultures whose social complexity outstripped the development of effective sanitation, hygiene, and germ theory awareness.

Helminths Of Small Mammals (Chiroptera, Insectivora, Lagomorpha) From Mongolia With A Description Of A New Species Of Schizorchis (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae), David S. Tinnin, Scott Lyell Gardner, Sumiya Ganzorig

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Fifty-eight individuals belonging to 10 species of bats, insectivores, and pikas were examined for helminths from 4 collection sites in Mongolia in 1999. Two species of bats (Vespertilio murinus and Eptesicus gobiensis) were infected with a single species of trematode (Plagiorchis vespertilionis), which represents a new record for the country. One individual of E. gobiensis also harbored 1 unidentified filaroid nematode. The acanthocephalan Moniliformis moniliformis was found in the hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus. Cestodes in the genus Catenotaenia and the herein described Schizorchis mongoliensis n. sp. were recovered from pikas belonging to the species Ochotona alpina …

Preface [To Identification Keys To Strongylid Nematode Parasites Of Equids], J. Ralph Lichtenfels

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Preface to a special issue of Veterinary Parasitology (v. 156, nos. 1-2, 2008), titled Identification Keys to Strongylid Nematode Parasites of Equids.

Illustrated Identification Keys To Strongylid Parasites Strongyllidae Nematoda Of Horses Zebras And Asses Equidae, J. Ralph Lichtenfels, Vitaliy A. Kharchenko, Grigory M. Dvojnos

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Equidae (the horse, Equus caballus, the ass, Equus asinus, zebras and their hybrids) are hosts to a great variety of nematode parasites, some of which can cause significant morbidity or mortality if individual hosts are untreated. Worldwide the nematode parasites of horses belong to 7 suborders, 12 families, 29 genera and 83 species. The great majority (19 of 29 genera and 64 of 83 species) are members of the family Strongylidae, which includes the most common and pathogenic nematode parasites of horses. Only the Strongylidae are included in this treatise.

The Strongylidae (common name strongylids) of horses …

An Exploration Of Diversity Among The Ostertagiinae (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) In Ungulates From Sub-Saharan Africa With A Proposal For A New Genus, Eric P. Hoberg, Arthur Abrams, Vanessa O. Ezenwa

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Abomasal nematodes (Ostertagiine: Trichostrongyloidea) representing a previously unrecognized genus and species are reported in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) from Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Africanastrongylus buceros gen. nov. et sp. nov. is characterized by a symmetrical tapering synlophe in the cervical region and a maximum of 60 ridges in males and females. Bursal structure is 2–2–1, with subequal Rays 4/5, massive Rays 8, and Rays 9/10, and a massive dorsal lobe that is reduced in length, laterally and dorsally inflated, and positioned ventral to externodorsal rays. Spicules are tripartite, and the gubernaculum is broadly alate in the …