Frenkelia
| Frenkelia | |
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| Family: | Sarcocystidae Poche 1913
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| Genus: | Frenkelia Biocca 1968
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Frenkelia clethrionomyobuteonis | |
Frenkelia is a genus of parasitic protozoa in the phylum Apicomplexa. The protozoa in this genus infect the gasterointestinal tracts of birds of prey (definitive hosts) and the tissues of small rodents (intermediate hosts).
Taxonomy
Species of this genus share antigens with Sarcocystis.[1] DNA studies suggest that this genus should be merged with Sarcocystis.[2][3]
Despite several recommendations, abolition of this genus has not yet been approved.[4][5]
Lifecycle
The parasites undergo sexual reproduction in the gut of the definitive host - a bird of prey. They form cysts and are then eaten by a small rodent. Within the gut of the rodent, the parasites decyst. They invade the intestinal wall and are carried to the liver. They undergo schizogony in the hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. They then invade the nervous tissue of the rodent host, forming cytic structures.[6] The infected rodent is then eaten by a bird, when the tissue cysts are digested, releasing the parasites. The parasites invade the enterocytes, undergo merogony and gametogony. Gametes are formed which then fuse forming a zygote that undergoes encystation.
Host records
- Frenkelia microti - red tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera), prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
Unknown parasite species
- Field mouse (Apodemus flavicollis)
- Water vole (Arvicola sapidus)
- Red-tailed hawks (Buteo borealis)
- Red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus)
- Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
- Muskrat (Ondatra zibethica)
- Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina)
References
- ^ Cerná Z, Kolárová I (1972) Contribution to the serological diagnosis of sarcocystosis. Folia Parasitol (Praha) 25(4):289-292
- ^ Votýpka J, Hypsa V, Jirků M, Flegr J, Vávra J, Lukes J (1998) Molecular phylogenetic relatedness of Frenkelia spp. (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) to Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles 1893: is the genus Sarcocystis paraphyletic? J Eukaryot Microbiol 45(1):137-141
- ^ Olias P, Gruber AD, Heydorn AO, Kohls A, Mehlhorn H, Hafez HM, Lierz M (2008) A novel Sarcocystis-associated encephalitis and myositis in racing pigeons. Avian Pathol 38(2):121-128
- ^ Modrý D, Votýpka J, Svobodová M 91984) Note on the taxonomy of Frenkelia microti (Findlay & Middleton, 1934) (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae). Syst Parasitol 58(3):185-187
- ^ Mugridge NB, Morrison DA, Jäkel T, Heckeroth AR, Tenter AM, Johnson AM (2000) Effects of sequence alignment and structural domains of ribosomal DNA on phylogeny reconstruction for the protozoan family sarcocystidae. Mol Biol Evol 17(12):1842-1853
- ^ Geisel O, Kaiser E, Vogel O, Krampitz HE, Rommel M (1979) Pathomorphologic findings in short-tailed voles (Microtus agrestis) experimentally infected with Frenkelia microti. J Wildl Dis 15(2):267-270