U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Resources
                        Our ScientistsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            MORE, GASTON - National University Of La Plata And Museumitem
                                            REGENSBURGER, CRISTIAN - Universidad Nacional De La Patagonia Australitem
                                            GOS, LAURA - National University Of La Plata And Museumitem
                                            PARDINI, LAIS - National University Of La Plata And Museumitem
                                            VERMA, SHIV - Orise Fellowitem
                                            CTIBOR, JULIANA - Universidad Nacional De La Patagonia Australitem
                                            SERRANO-MARTINEZ, ENRIQUE - Universidad Peruanaitem
                                            Dubey, Jitenderitem
                                            VENTURINI, CECILIA - National University Of La Plata And Museum
  Submitted to: Parasitology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2016
                                    Publication  Date: 4/16/2016
                                    Citation: More, G., Regensburger, C., Gos, L.M., Pardini, L., Verma, S.K., Ctibor, J., Serrano-Martinez, E., Dubey, J.P., Venturini, C. 2016. Sarcocystis masoni, n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae), and redescription of Sarcocystis aucheniae from llama (Lama glama), guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and alpaca (Vicugna pacos). Parasitology. 143(5):617-26.Interpretive Summary: Zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma, and related parasite Sarcocystis continues to be of public health concern. Sarcocystis is a single celled parasite. Two of the Sarcocystis species, S. hominis and S. suihominis are transmissible to humans by eating raw/undercooked beef or pork, respectively. Illness has been reported in humans after ingesting Sarcocystis infected of other food animals, considered to be allergic or toxic reaction to Sarcocystis parasites. The South American camelids (Llama, Alpaca, guanaco) are economically important animals and their popularity as companion animals in America is increasing. Carcasses are condemned because  of grossly visible sarcocysts in meat. Here, we report the prevalence of Sarcocystis in American camelids, with a description of a new species, Sarcocystis masoni. The results will be of interest to veterinarians, biologists, and parasitologists.
                                Technical Abstract: There is considerable confusion concerning the species of Sarcocystis in South American camelids (SAC). Several species names have been used, however, proper descriptions are lacking. In the present paper we redescribe the macroscopic sarcocyst forming Sarcocystis aucheniae and describe and name the microscopic sarcocyst forming species as Sarcocystis masoni n. sp. Muscles samples were obtained from llamas (Lama glama) and guanacos (Lama guanicoe) from Argentina and from alpacas (Vicugna pacos) and llamas from Peru. Individual cysts were processed by optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and molecular studies.  Microscopic cysts of S. masoni were up to 800 μm long and 35-95 μm wide, the sarcocyst wall was 2.5-3.5 μm thick, and had conical to cylindrical villar protrusions (vp)with several microtubules. Each vp had 11 or more rows of knob-like projections. Seven 18S rRNA gene sequences obtained revealed 96-95% sequence identity with other Sarcocystis spp. previously reported. Phylogenetical analysis positioned S. masoni sequences in the same branch as other Sarcocystis spp. using canids as definitive hosts. Sarcocysts of S. aucheniae were macroscopic, up to 1.2 cm long.Cysts were frequently surrounded by a dense and laminar 50 μm thick capsule. The cyst wall was up to 10 μm thick, and had branched villar protrusions (vp), appearing like cauliflower. Comparison of the 11 sequences obtained from macroscopic cysts evidenced a 98-99 % of sequence homology with other S. aucheniae sequences. All the S. aucheniae sequences aligned in a separated branch from other Sarcocystis spp. which used canids as definitive host. In conclusion, 2 morphologically and molecularly different Sarcocystis species S. masoni (microscopic cysts) and S. aucheniae (macroscopic cysts), were identified affecting different SAC from Argentina and Peru.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov