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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) are definitive hosts of Sarcocystis alces and Sarcocystis hjorti from moose (Alces alces)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2010

STINA S. DAHLGREN  and
BJØRN GJERDE
STINA S. DAHLGREN*
Affiliation:
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, P.O. Box 8146Dep., 0033Oslo, Norway
BJØRN GJERDE
Affiliation:
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, P.O. Box 8146Dep., 0033Oslo, Norway
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +47 22 96 49 68. Fax: +47 22 96 49 65. E-mail: StinaSofia.Dahlgren@nvh.no
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Summary

The aim of this study was to determine whether foxes might act as definitive hosts of Sarcocystis alces in moose. In 2 experiments, 6 silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and 6 blue foxes (Vulpes lagopus) were fed muscle tissue from moose containing numerous sarcocysts of S. alces, and euthanased 7–28 days post-infection (p.i.). Intestinal mucosal scrapings and faecal samples were screened microscopically for Sarcocystis oocysts/sporocysts, which were identified to species by means of species-specific primers and sequence analysis targeting the ssu rRNA gene. All foxes in both experiments became infected with Sarcocystis; the oocysts were fully sporulated by 14 days p.i., containing sporocysts measuring 14–15×10 μm. Molecular identification revealed that the oocysts/sporocysts belonged to 2 species, S. alces and Sarcocystis hjorti, although sarcocysts of S. hjorti were only identified in moose subsequent to the infection of foxes. In the first experiment, all 8 foxes also became infected with a Hammondia sp. derived from moose, shedding unsporulated, subspherical oocysts, measuring 10–12 μm in diameter, from 6–7 days p.i. onwards. The study proved that canids (the red fox and arctic fox) are definitive hosts for S. alces and S. hjorti, as had been inferred from the phylogenetic position of these species.

Keywords

HammondiaSarcocystis alcesSarcocystis hjortiVulpes lagopusVulpes vulpesssu rRNA gene
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 10 , September 2010 , pp. 1547 - 1557
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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