Abstract
BackgroundOxyspirura petrowi (Spirurida: Thelaziidae), a heteroxenous nematode of birds across the USA, may play a role in the decline of the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of West Texas. Previous molecular studies suggest that crickets, grasshoppers and cockroaches serve as potential intermediate hosts of O. petrowi, although a complete study on the life-cycle of this nematode has not been conducted thus far. Consequently, this study aims to improve our understanding of the O. petrowi life-cycle by experimentally infecting house crickets (Acheta domesticus) with O. petrowi eggs, feeding infected crickets to bobwhite and assessing the life-cycle of this nematode in both the definitive and intermediate hosts.MethodsOxyspirura petrowi eggs were collected from gravid worms recovered from wild bobwhite and fed to house crickets. The development of O. petrowi within crickets was monitored by dissection of crickets at specified intervals. When infective larvae were found inside crickets, parasite-free pen-raised bobwhite were fed four infected crickets each. The maturation of O. petrowi in bobwhite was monitored through fecal floats and bobwhite necropsies at specified intervals.ResultsIn this study, we were able to infect both crickets (n = 45) and bobwhite (n = 25) with O. petrowi at a rate of 96%. We successfully replicated and monitored the complete O. petrowi life-cycle in vivo, recovering embryonated O. petrowi eggs from the feces of bobwhite 51 days after consumption of infected crickets. All life-cycle stages of O. petrowi were confirmed in both the house cricket and the bobwhite using morphological and molecular techniques.ConclusionsThis study provides a better understanding of the infection mechanism and life-cycle of O. petrowi by tracking the developmental progress within both the intermediate and definitive host. To our knowledge, this study is the first to fully monitor the complete life-cycle of O. petrowi and may allow for better estimates into the potential for future epizootics of O. petrowi in bobwhite. Finally, this study provides a model for experimental infection that may be used in research examining the effects of O. petrowi infection in bobwhite.
Highlights
Oxyspirura petrowi (Spirurida: Thelaziidae), a heteroxenous nematode of birds across the USA, may play a role in the decline of the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of West Texas
On day post-exposure (DPE) 29, the first encysted O. petrowi were found fused to the Malpighian tubules and intestines of crickets and these were identified as second-stage larvae by well-defined structures of the esophagus and intestine (Figs. 2b, 3)
This study provides a detailed explanation of the sequential events in the O. petrowi life-cycle, focusing on the development of O. petrowi in both an insect intermediate host and avian definitive host
Summary
Oxyspirura petrowi (Spirurida: Thelaziidae), a heteroxenous nematode of birds across the USA, may play a role in the decline of the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of West Texas. In the USA, it was first reported in Galliformes and Passeriformes in Michigan during 1937 [1] Since it has been identified in numerous other species from these orders, including the lesser-prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) [2], northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) [3], northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) [4], Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) [5], scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) and northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) [6]. Oxyspirura petrowi has gained particular notoriety in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of West Texas, as this area is reported to be the epicenter of infection [7]. Bobwhite populations throughout the West Texas Rolling Plains have been declining, with O. petrowi infection being purported as a potential mechanism contributing to this decline [9,10,11]
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