A molecular and ecological analysis of the trematode plagiorchis elegans in the wood mouse apodemus sylvaticus from a periaquatic ecosystem in the UK

Boyce, K, Hide, G ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-0175, Craig, PS, Reynolds, C, Hussain, M, Bodell, AJ, Bradshaw, H, Pickles, A and Rogan, MT ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5399-8570 2013, 'A molecular and ecological analysis of the trematode plagiorchis elegans in the wood mouse apodemus sylvaticus from a periaquatic ecosystem in the UK' , Journal of Helminthology, 88 (03) , pp. 310-320.

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Abstract

The prevalence of the digenean Plagiorchis sp. was investigated in a natural wood mouse population (Apodemus sylvaticus) in a periaquatic environment. Classical identification was complemented with the use of molecular differentiation to determine prevalence and verify species identity. Use of the complete ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 and partial 28S rDNA gene sequences have confirmed that the species reported at this location was Plagiorchis elegans and not Plagiorchis muris as reported previously. This underlines the difficulties in identification of these morphologically similar parasites. Plagiorchis elegans is typically a gastrointestinal parasite of avian species but has also been reported from small mammal populations. Although the occurrence of this digenean in A. sylvaticus in the UK is rare, in the area immediately surrounding Malham Tarn, Yorkshire, it had a high prevalence (23%) and a mean worm burden of 26.6 ^ 61.5. The distribution of P. elegans followed a typically overdispersed pattern and both mouse age-group and sex were determined to be two main factors associated with prevalence. Male mice harboured the majority of worms, carrying 688 of 717 recovered during the study, and had a higher prevalence of 32.4% in comparison to only 8.7% in the small intestine of female mice. A higher prevalence of 43% was also observed in adult mice compared to 14% for young adults. No infection was observed in juvenile mice. These significant differences are likely to be due to differences in the foraging behaviour between the sexes and age cohorts of wood mice.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Health and Wellbeing Subjects outside of the University Themes
Schools:	Schools > School of Environment and Life Sciences > Biomedical Research Centre Schools > School of Environment and Life Sciences > Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Helminthology
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0022-149X
Related URLs:	Publisher
Funders:	Nuffield Foundation, British Society for Parasitology
Depositing User:	Professor Geoff Hide
Date Deposited:	10 Feb 2015 20:11
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2022 18:54
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/33372

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