Abstract
Sarcocysts from four Polish roe deer were collected and examined by light microscopy, small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssu rRNA), and the subunit I of cytochrome oxidase (cox1) sequence analysis. This resulted in identification of Sarcocystis gracilis, Sarcocystis oviformis, and Sarcocystis silva. However, we were unable to detect Sarcocystis capreolicanis, the fourth Sarcocystis species found previously in Norwegian roe deer. Polish sarcocysts isolated from various tissues differed in terms of their shape and size and were larger than the respective Norwegian isolates. Analysis of ssu rRNA gene revealed the lack of differences between Sarcocystis isolates belonging to one species and a very low degree of genetic diversity between Polish and Norwegian sarcocysts, ranging from 0.1 % for Sarcocystis gracilis and Sarcocystis oviformis to 0.44 % for Sarcocystis silva. Contrary to the results of the ssu rRNA analysis, small intraspecies differences in cox1 sequences were found among Polish Sarcocystis gracilis and Sarcocystis silva isolates. The comparison of Polish and Norwegian cox1 sequences representing the same Sarcocystis species revealed similar degree of sequence identity, namely 99.72 % for Sarcocystis gracilis, 98.76 % for Sarcocystis silva, and 99.85 % for Sarcocystis oviformis. Phylogenetic reconstruction and genetic population analyses showed an unexpected high degree of identity between Polish and Norwegian isolates. Moreover, cox1 gene sequences turned out to be more accurate than ssu rRNA when used to reveal phylogenetic relationships among closely related species. The results of our study revealed that the same Sarcocystis species isolated from the same hosts living in different geographic regions show a very high level of genetic similarity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00436-014-3966-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Sarcocystis spp. are obligatory intracellular protozoa, which parasitize many different animals, including mammals, birds, and fish (Tenter 1995; Fayer 2004)
The present study was undertaken to identify the Sarcocystis spp. parasitizing Polish roe deer and to compare their characteristics with those of Norwegian isolates, as available data on the specimens collected in various geographical locations are sparse
S. gracilis and S. silva found in the skeletal muscles, esophagus, and tongue had morphology typical for the species but were larger than the respective Norwegian isolates (Dahlgren and Gjerde 2009; Gjerde 2012)
Summary
Sarcocystis spp. are obligatory intracellular protozoa, which parasitize many different animals, including mammals, birds, and fish (Tenter 1995; Fayer 2004). They have an obligatory two-host life cycle. Pathogenic species of Sarcocystis cause acute disease only in intermediate hosts. Most pathogenic species of Sarcocystis are those infecting ruminants; in the case of massive infections, they cause hemorrhagic diathesis, encephalitis, encephalomyelitis, and, eventually, death of the animal. Acute infections of pregnant females with Sarcocystis spp. are associated with fetal death, abortion, and premature birth
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