A preliminary study of natural and experimental infection of the lesser mealworm Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) with Histomonas meleagridis (Protozoa: Sarcomastigophora). 2007

Karine Huber, and Linda Gouilloud, and Lionel Zenner
UMR 958 Protozoaires Entéricoles des Volailles, INRA-ENVL, Marcy L'Etoile, France. k.huber@vet-lyon.fr

Histomonas meleagridis is a protozoan parasite causing histomoniasis (histomonosis), a disease of gallinaceous fowl. In order to determine whether the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, is capable of harbouring H. meleagridis, the presence of the parasite was tested by polymerase chain reaction in lesser mealworms collected in the field. Parasite DNA was detected in two larvae from two farms undergoing an outbreak of histomoniasis. Insects were also artificially infected, killed after incubation and analysed by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of parasite DNA. After 4 days, two larvae (out of 20) remained positive. In another experimental infection to investigate the viability of histomonads in the larvae, living parasites were detected in five of 20 larvae 4 days after infection. These results indicate that although A. diaperinus can become infected with H. meleagridis it appears to have a low susceptibility to infection and would probably not be a major route of contamination between flocks.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007814 Larva Wormlike or grublike stage, following the egg in the life cycle of insects, worms, and other metamorphosing animals. Maggots,Tadpoles,Larvae,Maggot,Tadpole
D011528 Protozoan Infections Infections with unicellular organisms formerly members of the subkingdom Protozoa. Histomoniasis,Infections, Protozoan,Histomoniases,Infection, Protozoan,Protozoan Infection
D002645 Chickens Common name for the species Gallus gallus, the domestic fowl, in the family Phasianidae, order GALLIFORMES. It is descended from the red jungle fowl of SOUTHEAST ASIA. Gallus gallus,Gallus domesticus,Gallus gallus domesticus,Chicken
D004196 Disease Outbreaks Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS. Outbreaks,Infectious Disease Outbreaks,Disease Outbreak,Disease Outbreak, Infectious,Disease Outbreaks, Infectious,Infectious Disease Outbreak,Outbreak, Disease,Outbreak, Infectious Disease,Outbreaks, Disease,Outbreaks, Infectious Disease
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001517 Coleoptera Order of winged insects also known as beetles comprising over 350,000 species in 150 families. They possess hard bodies with mouthparts adapted for chewing. Beetles,Beetle
D012680 Sensitivity and Specificity Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D014422 Turkeys Large woodland game BIRDS in the subfamily Meleagridinae, family Phasianidae, order GALLIFORMES. Formerly they were considered a distinct family, Melegrididae. Meleagridinae,Meleagrididae
D016054 DNA, Protozoan Deoxyribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of protozoa. Protozoan DNA
D016133 Polymerase Chain Reaction In vitro method for producing large amounts of specific DNA or RNA fragments of defined length and sequence from small amounts of short oligonucleotide flanking sequences (primers). The essential steps include thermal denaturation of the double-stranded target molecules, annealing of the primers to their complementary sequences, and extension of the annealed primers by enzymatic synthesis with DNA polymerase. The reaction is efficient, specific, and extremely sensitive. Uses for the reaction include disease diagnosis, detection of difficult-to-isolate pathogens, mutation analysis, genetic testing, DNA sequencing, and analyzing evolutionary relationships. Anchored PCR,Inverse PCR,Nested PCR,PCR,Anchored Polymerase Chain Reaction,Inverse Polymerase Chain Reaction,Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction,PCR, Anchored,PCR, Inverse,PCR, Nested,Polymerase Chain Reactions,Reaction, Polymerase Chain,Reactions, Polymerase Chain

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