The cestode parasite Schistocephalus pungitii: castrator or nutrient thief of ninespine stickleback fish?

In this investigation, the host-parasite relationship of ninespine stickleback fish Pungitius pungitius and the cestode parasite Schistocephalus pungitii was studied using samples from Dog Bone Lake, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, to test the hypothesis that S. pungitii is a castrator of ninespine stickleback. Infected, adult females of all sizes (ages) were capable of producing clutches of eggs. S. pungitii had a negative effect on the ability of host females to produce a clutch, which was related to increasing parasite:host mass ratio (parasite index, PI). Among infected females with egg clutches, both clutch size and egg size were reduced; and the reduction increased with greater PI. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that S. pungitii causes host sterility as a result of simple nutrient theft and is not a true castrator as hypothesized in earlier reports. The degree of parasite-induced sterility appears to vary among populations of the ninespine stickleback, perhaps reflecting differences in resource availability. Populations of ninespine stickleback appear to show a greater reduction in host reproductive capacity with PI than populations of the threespine stickleback infected by Schistocephalus solidus, possibly owing, in part, to the length-adjusted somatic mass of the threespine stickleback being greater.

Oestrogenic pollutants promote the growth of a parasite in male sticklebacks.

Aquatic environments are especially susceptible to anthropogenic chemical pollution. Yet although knowledge on the biological effects of pollutants on aquatic organisms is increasing, far less is known about how ecologically-important interspecific interactions are affected by chemicals. In particular, the consequences of anthropogenic pollution for the interaction of hosts and parasites are poorly understood. Here, we examine how exposure to 17ß-oestradiol (E2)-a natural oestrogen and a model endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) -affects infection susceptibility and emergent infection phenotypes in an experimental host-parasite system; three spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) infected with the common, debilitating cestode Schistocephalus solidus. We exposed individual sticklebacks to a 0ngl(-1) (control), 10ngl(-1) or 100ngl(-1) E2 treatment before feeding them infective stages of S. solidus. E2 exposure significantly elevated vitellogenin (VTG) levels-a biomarker of exposure to xenoestrogens-in both female and male fish, and reduced their body condition. Susceptibility to parasite infection was unaffected by EDC exposure; however, E2 treatment and fish sex interacted significantly to determine the growth rate of parasites, which grew quickest in male hosts held under the higher (100ngl(-1)) E2 treatment. Tissue VTG levels and parasite mass correlated positively across the whole sample of experimentally infected fish, but separate regressions run on the male and female datasets demonstrated a significant relationship only among male fish. Hence, among males-but not females-elevated VTG levels elicited by E2 exposure led to more rapid parasite growth. We outline plausible physiological mechanisms that could explain these results. Our results demonstrate that oestrogenic pollutants can alter host-parasite interactions by promoting parasite growth, and that male hosts may be disproportionately affected. Because ecologically-relevant effects of infection on host antipredator responses, growth, energetics and reproductive development all depend on parasite mass in this host-parasite system, our results indicate that EDCs can mediate the ecological consequences of infections. We therefore consider the implications of our results for the ecology of hosts and parasites in polluted environments.

Infection levels of plerocercoids of the tapeworm Triaenophorus crassus and feeding strategy in two fish species from the ultra-oligotrophic Lake Achensee, Austria.

Thus far, high burdens of Triaenophorus crassus plerocercoids have been reported only in old age groups of coregonid and salmonid fishes. Here we show heavy infection with T. crassus in young whitefish Coregonus lavaretus in the ultra-oligotrophic and regulated Achensee in Tyrol, Austria. Prevalence of T. crassus on C. lavaretus was 100% in all age groups and abundance significantly increased with fish age. The mean annual accumulation of T. crassus was 5.2 parasites in 0- to 7-year-old C. lavaretus, and 2-year-old specimens already harboured a mean of 19.4 plerocercoids. In Arctic charr Salvelinus umbla, however, the prevalence of T. crassus was less than 16% and the majority of infected fish contained only one or two plerocercoids. Triaenophorus nodulosus was present neither in C. lavaretus nor in S. umbla. We assume that the heavy T. crassus infection in C. lavaretus is largely related to their zooplankton-dominated diet and to the characteristics of Achensee, while habitat choice and feeding strategy of the S. umbla population are seen to be the main reasons for their low burdens of T. crassus.

Infection by the cestode parasite Schistocephalus sp. and effects on diet, body condition and survival of sculpins Cottus aleuticus and Cottus cognatus.

Sampling in Iliamna Lake, Alaska, U.S.A. revealed that a greater proportion of coastrange sculpins Cottus aleuticus were infected by the cestode Schistocephalus solidus than slimy sculpins Cottus cognatus (52 v. 23%), and infected C. aleuticus contained more cestodes than did C. cognatus (2·1 v. 1·3 per fish). Consumption of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka eggs (the primary diet item) was lower in fishes with cestodes, and a model based on cestode prevalence and age composition estimated higher rates of infection and parasite-associated mortality in C. aleuticus compared with C. cognatus.

Variation in the reproductive potential of Schistocephalus infected male sticklebacks is associated with 11-ketotestosterone titre.

Parasites can impact host reproduction by interfering with host endocrine systems, but the adaptive nature of such effects is disputed. Schistocephalus solidus plerocercoids are parasites of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus that are often associated with impaired host reproduction. Here, we relate reproductive behavior and physiology to levels of the androgen 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) in naturally infected and non-infected male sticklebacks from two UK populations. In one population infected males harbored heavy infections and showed uniformly reduced 11KT titres and kidney spiggin (nesting glue protein) content compared to non-infected fish. However in a second population infection levels were more variable and males with smaller infections recorded 11KT and spiggin titres that overlapped those of non-infected fish; among infected males from this population 11KT and kidney spiggin also both correlated negatively with infection severity. Male reproductive behavior correlated closely with 11KT titre in both populations, and infected males with high 11KT levels exhibited normal reproductive behavior. Our results suggest that Schistocephalus infection per se does not block reproductive development in male sticklebacks, and that some male fish may have the ability to breed whilst infected. Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that Schistocephalus adaptively castrates male hosts via endocrine disruption; rather they support the hypothesis that reproductive disruption is a side effect of the energetic costs of infection.

Inhibition of gametogenesis by the cestode Ligula intestinalis in roach (Rutilus rutilus) is attenuated under laboratory conditions.

Reproductive parameters of Ligula intestinalis-infected roach (Rutilus rutilus) which were held under long-tem laboratory conditions with unlimited food supply were investigated. Although uninfected and infected roach showed no difference in condition factor and both groups deposited perivisceral fat, the gonadosomatic-index was significantly lower in infected female and male roach. Quantitative histological analysis revealed that gonad development was retarded upon parasitization in both genders. In contrast to the phenotype described in the field, infected females were able to recruit follicles into secondary growth, but a high percentage of secondary growth follicles underwent atresia. In both genders, the histological data corresponded well with reduced expression of pituitary gonadotropins and lowered plasma concentrations of sex steroids, as revealed by real-time RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Furthermore, a reduction of vitellogenin mRNA and modulated expression of sex steroid receptors in the liver was demonstrated. Like in the field, there was a significant adverse impact of L. intestinalis on host reproductive physiology which could not be related to parasite burden. Our results show, for the first time, that maintenance under laboratory conditions can not abolish the deleterious effect of L. intestinalis on gametogenesis in roach, and indicate a specific inhibition of host reproduction by endocrine disruption.

Naturally-induced endocrine disruption by the parasite Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda) in roach (Rutilus rutilus).

Fish represent the most frequently used vertebrate class for the investigation of endocrine disruption (ED) in wildlife. However, field studies are complicated by exposure scenarios involving a variety of anthropogenic and natural influences interfering with the endocrine system. One natural aspect rarely considered in ecotoxicological studies is how parasites modulate host physiology. Therefore, investigations were carried out to characterise the impacts of the parasitic tapeworm Ligula intestinalis on plasma sex steroid levels and expression of key genes associated with the reproduction in roach (Rutilus rutilus), a sentinel species for wildlife ED research. Parasitisation by L. intestinalis suppressed gonadal development in both genders of roach and analysis of plasma sex steroids revealed substantially lower levels of 17beta-oestradiol (E2) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) in infected females as well as E2, 11-KT, and testosterone in infected males. Consistently, in both, infected females and males, expression of the oestrogen dependent genes such as vitellogenin and brain-type aromatase in liver and brain was reduced. Furthermore, parasitisation differentially modulated mRNA expression of the oestrogen and androgen receptors in brain and liver. Most prominently, liver expression of oestrogen receptor 1 was reduced in infected females but not in males, whereas expression of oestrogen receptor 2a was up-regulated in both genders. Further, insulin-like growth factor 1 mRNA in the liver was increased in infected females but not in males. Despite severe impacts on plasma sex steroids and pituitary gonadotropin expression, brain mRNA levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) precursors encoding GnRH2 and GnRH3 were not affected by L. intestinalis-infection. In summary, the present results provide basic knowledge of the endocrine system in L. intestinalis-infected roach and clearly demonstrate that parasites can cause ED in fish.

Castration of female ninespine stickleback by the pseudophyllidean cestode Schistocephalus pungitii: evolutionary significance and underlying mechanism.

Parasitic castration may result from manipulation of host energy allocation away from reproduction, which should result in castration of lightly infected hosts as well as heavily infected ones. Castration also may result from nutrient theft alone, which incidentally influences host energy allocation to reproduction and should cause reproduction to end in heavily infected hosts. Although the pseudophyllidean cestode Schistocephalus pungitii is a castrator of ninespine stickleback fish (Pungitius pungitius), the cause and significance of castration remain unknown. We used predictions about reproductive capacity in lightly and heavily infected hosts and host size (age) at which castration occurs to address these questions. In Airolo Lake, Alaska, we found that inhibition of reproduction in ninespine stickleback occurs in small fish before the size (age) of sexual maturity and is not instantaneous. Castration was observed in lightly and heavily infected adult-size hosts. Infected fish do not reach the same size as uninfected fish, possibly because of growth inhibition or selective predation. Castration in infected adult-size female ninespine stickleback appears to be the result of adaptive manipulation of host energy allocation by the parasite, but it could result from an energy budget readily influenced by parasitism.

Reproductive potential of Schistocephalus solidus-infected male three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from two U.K. populations.

Male three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from two U.K. populations with endemic infections of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus were brought into the laboratory prior to the breeding season and transferred to nesting tanks under conditions designed to stimulate sexual maturation. Nesting and courtship behaviours were scored over a 35 day period, after which fish were euthanized and the liver, spleen, kidney and gonads were weighed. Among G. aculeatus from a park pond in Leicester, U.K., infected males rarely engaged in reproductive behaviours and exhibited reduced indices of sexual development, body condition and general health, with effects being largely independent of relative parasite mass (parasite index, I(P)). In contrast, the reproductive behaviour of infected fish from Kendoon Loch in Dumfriesshire, U.K. appeared to be less severely affected, with infected fish regularly building nests and courting females under laboratory conditions. This was paralleled by a more limited effect of infection on physiological indicators of development, condition and general health. Furthermore, behavioural and physiological variables typically correlated with I(P) among infected fish from this population. Although comparing the performance of infected fish from the two populations directly was difficult due to potentially confounding factors, the results support the findings of recent studies showing that the effects of S. solidus on host reproduction are unlikely to be uniform across G. aculeatus populations. One possibility is that variation in the effects of infection arises from differences in the co-evolutionary association times of G. aculeatus with the parasite.

Expression and distribution of Toll-like receptors in the brain during murine neurocysticercosis.

In a mouse model of neurocysticercosis, the expression and distribution of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) was investigated by using both gene array analyses and in situ immunofluorescence microscopy (IF). In the normal uninfected brain, mRNA of all the TLRs are constitutively expressed albeit TLR5, TLR7, TLR8 and TLR9 to a lesser extent. In these animals, however, expression of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 proteins was not detected. In contrast, parasite infection increased both gene and protein level expression of all the TLRs several fold except TLR5 where only the mRNA was upregulated. Importantly, TLRs were differentially distributed among various central nervous system (CNS) cell types and infiltrating leukocytes. TLR2 was almost exclusively localized to nervous tissue cells, particularly astrocytes, while TLR1 and TLR9 proteins were essentially limited to infiltrating leukocytes. All other TLRs tested were detected in both CNS and immune cell types. Interestingly, ependymal cells and neurofilaments of the cerebellar white matter of infected mice exhibited a substantial upregulation of TLR7 and TLR8 proteins respectively. These data provide a comprehensive analysis of TLR expression in the normal and parasite infected brain and suggest a role for TLRs in the interplay of immune cells and CNS cells during infection.

Red and transparent brine shrimps (Artemia parthenogenetica): a comparative study of their cestode infections.

Although the red colour of brine shrimps has previously been supposed to be associated with cestode parasitism, no evidence has been provided that red and transparent brine shrimps differ in their role for cestode circulation. We compared the cestode infections in 100 red and 100 transparent Artemia parthenogenetica collected from the Odiel salt pans in Spain. Seven cestode species were recorded in red, and only four of them were recorded in transparent brine shrimps. The red brine shrimps were more infected with cysticercoids than transparent individuals (prevalence, 87 vs 21%; mean intensity, 1.56 vs 1.00; mean abundance, 1.35 vs 0.21). Three cestode species (Flamingolepis liguloides, Anomotaenia tringae and Confluaria podicipina) had significantly higher prevalence and mean abundance in red brine shrimps. These results suggest that red brine shrimps have a more important role for the circulation of avian cestodes than transparent individuals of the same population.

Parasitic pulmonary eosinophilia.

Parasitic infections, although common in tropical and subtropical regions, are prevalent worldwide because of changing immigration patterns and in international travel. The burden of worm infection is enormous and the intensity of infection is usually high among the poor and in immunocompromised individuals. Pulmonary eosinophilia occurs in almost all metazoan infections. In the Western world, the most common infections are caused by Strongyloides, Ascaris, Toxocara, and Ancylostoma species. Most of the nematodes multiply within the human host and cause pulmonary eosinophilia during larval migration through the lungs. Despite larval migration through the lungs, there is usually no permanent lung damage. The result is an increased number of eosinophils in the airways or lung parenchyma with or without peripheral eosinophilia. Löffler's syndrome, visceral larva migrans, and tropical pulmonary eosinophilia are the most common infections that cause pulmonary eosinophilia. The most serious parasitic eosinophilic lung disease is tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, a disorder caused by the filarial worms Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi, in which cases have typically been reported to masquerade acute or refractory bronchial asthma. Increasing awareness, newer diagnostic techniques, preventative measures, and antiparasitic drugs are important in reducing the worldwide morbidity and mortality from parasitic helminths and protozoa. This review focuses on common and some uncommon causes of pulmonary parasitic eosinophilia and their manifestations, diagnosis, and management.

Anoplocephala perfoliata of horses--significant scope for further research, improved diagnosis and control.

Anoplocephala perfoliata is the commonest tapeworm parasite of horses and is incriminated as a significant cause of clinical disease (e.g., ileocaecal intussusception, caeco-caecal intussusception and/or caecal perforation), particularly in horses chronically infected with large numbers of worms. The high prevalence (approximately 20-80%) of the parasite in some countries suggests an increased risk of clinical cases. In spite of research, there is still a paucity of information regarding the pathogenesis of the disease, the epidemiology of the parasite in different geographical regions and there are significant limitations with the diagnosis of infection. The present article provides an account of the biology, epidemiology and pathogenic effects of A. perfoliata, the diagnosis of infection and treatment. It highlights some gaps in knowledge of the parasite and the disease it causes, and suggests opportunities for future research and prospects for improved diagnosis, prevention and control.

Host specificity and geographical distribution of Eubothrium in European salmonid fish.

The host specificity and distribution of Eubothrium crassum (Bloch, 1779) and Eubothrium salvelini (Schrank, 1790), morphologically fairly similar pseudophyllidean tapeworms parasitizing salmonid fish, were critically assessed on the basis of morphological and genetic evaluation of extensive material collected from different definitive hosts and geographical regions in Europe. Eubothrium crassum occurs in fish of the genera Salmo, i.e. salmon (S. salar - both freshwater and marine), sea trout (S. trutta trutta), brown trout (S. trutta fario), and lake trout (S. trutta lacustris), and also in Danubian salmon (Hucho hucho) and vendace (Coregonus albula). Eubothrium salvelini parasitizes Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Europe, and also whitefish (Coregonus wartmanni). Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which is not a native European fish species, was found to be a suitable definitive host for both Eubothrium species, which may occur simultaneously in the same fish. Previous records of E. crassum in Arctic char and brook trout, and those of E. salvelini in fish of the genus Salmo were most probably misidentifications. Most studies of Eubothrium have involved salmonids from the northern part of Europe, with few records from southern and south-eastern Europe. This study also confirmed the reliability of the morphology of the apical disc for the discrimination of E. crassum and E. salvelini.

Effects of experimental Schistocephalus solidus infections on growth, morphology and sexual development of female three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus.

The use of naturally infected hosts in studies attempting to identify parasite-induced changes in host biology is problematical because it does not eliminate the possibility that infection may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of host trait variation. In addition, uncontrolled concomitant infections may confound results. In this study we experimentally infected individual laboratory-bred female three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus L. with the pseudophyllidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus [Müller], and compared the morphology and growth patterns of infected females with sham-exposed controls over a 16-week period. Fish were fed a ration of 8% body weight per day. Non-invasive image analysis techniques allowed the growth of individual plerocercoids to be tracked in vivo throughout the course of infection, and patterns of host and parasite growth were determined. Females that developed infections diverged morphometrically from unexposed control females and exposed-uninfected females at 6 weeks post-infection, with the width of the body at the pectoral fins giving the earliest indication of infection success. When including the plerocercoid, infected females gained weight more quickly than controls, but when plerocercoid weight was removed this trend was reversed. There was no effect of infection on the increase in fish length. Plerocercoids grew at different rates in individual hosts, and exhibited measurable sustained weight increases of up to 10% per day. Final estimates of plerocercoid weight from morphometric analysis prior to autopsy were accurate to within +/- 17% of actual plerocercoid weight. At autopsy, infected female sticklebacks had significantly lower perivisceral fat reserves but had developed significantly larger ovaries than controls. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies examining natural infections, and the value of utilizing experimental infections to examine ecological aspects of host-parasite interactions is discussed.

The consequences of self-fertilization and outcrossing of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus in its second intermediate host.

Many hermaphroditic parasites reproduce by both cross-fertilization and self-fertilization. To understand the maintenance of such mixed mating systems it is necessary to compare the fitness consequences of the two reproductive modes. This has, however, almost never been done in the context of host-parasite coevolution. Here we show the consequences of outcrossing and selfing in an advanced life-stage of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus, i.e. in its second intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Each juvenile stickleback was simultaneously exposed to 2 experimentally infected copepods, one harbouring outcrossed the other selfed parasites. At 60 days p.i. parasites were removed from the fish's body cavity and, with microsatellite markers, assigned to either outcrossed or selfed origin. Prevalence was not significantly higher in outcrossed parasites. However, those fish that were infected contained significantly more out-crossed than selfed parasites. Thus the probability of a selfed parasite to progress in the life-cycle is reduced in the second intermediate host. Furthermore, we found that even the multiply infected fish increased in weight during the experiment. Nevertheless, total worm weight in multiply infected fish was significantly lower than in singly infected ones, which thus might be a parasite life-history strategy.

Reduction of egg size in natural populations of threespine stickleback infected with a cestode macroparasite.

Manifestations of infectious disease may represent host adaptations to avoid or reduce the effects of infection on host fitness, parasite manipulations that benefit the pathogen's fitness, or nonadaptive side effects of parasitism. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Alaska and the cestode macroparasite Schistocephalus solidus provide an excellent system for study of the effects of parasitism on host egg size because females in populations there are capable of producing clutches of eggs in the face of substantial infection, contrary to the inhibition of reproduction that has been observed in other stickleback populations or other species of fish. A side effect resulting in reduction of mean ovummass among infected females was predicted based on the egg production process in female stickleback, the considerable energy and resource demands of S. solidus, and the chronic and progressive nature of the effects the macroparasite should have on the host fish. In each of 9 populations of G. aculeatus representing replicate natural experiments in lakes scattered across the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska and among all populations combined, the mean ovum mass of infected female fish is significantly reduced in comparison with that of uninfected females taken from the same population at the same time. Reduction in mean female egg mass ranged from 8 to 32% across all populations. To examine whether reduction in mean female ovum mass was a nonadaptive side effect or an adaptation, relatively large data sets from 2 of the populations were used. Mean ovum mass of infected females was predicted to decrease directly in relation to parasite index (PI) if the diminution in mean egg mass were the result of a nonadaptive side effect resulting from host nutrient loss. Alternatively, the absence of a relationship between PI and reduction in ovum mass is predicted if decreases in mean female ovum mass result from host or parasite adaptation (or both) because lightly infected hosts should show a response similar to that of heavily infected ones. In each of the 2 populations, there is a significant, negative relationship between mean female ovum mass and PI, demonstrating a correlation between the decrease in ovum mass and the level of infection. Thus, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the reductions in mean female egg mass represent side effects of parasitism involving nutrient theft. Moreover, the proportional decline in egg mass with increasing PI apparently differed between the 2 populations, and there was no significant relationship between mean percent decrease in mean female ovum mass and mean PI across populations. These observations suggest that unknown ecological and evolutionary factors influence the degree of reduction in mean ovum mass in a population-specific manner.