ISSN:
1550-7408
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
SYNOPSIS. All of 99 adult English house-sparrows, examined in the St. Albans area of Hertfordshire, England, were found to be infected with the organism previously defined by Garnham (1950) as Atoxoplasma. Young birds were found to become infected while still in the nests and as early as 6 days after hatching; there was no evidence to suggest that the parasite was transmitted through the egg. Within a few weeks of leaving the nests, all of 150 fledgling sparrows examined were heavily infected and several trapped birds died from massive infections.All stages of schizogony were found in the lymphoid-macrophage cells of the spleen, bone marrow and liver of these birds; later, as the schizogonic cycle abated, gametocytes developed in similar cells of the liver, lungs and kidney. These gametocytes are of the Eimeria type: the zygote nucleus divides to produce an asporous and polyzoic oocyst containing a large number of sporozoites, and after the rupture of the oocyst these sporozoites invade the lymphocytes and monocytes of the peripheral blood.Transmission of the parasite in the sparrow is thought to take place after the ingestion of infected mites (Dermanyssus gallinae) by the young birds in the nests: unchanged sporozoites were found in smears of these mites that had been fed on infected sparrows. Transmission experiments were impossible due to the complete lack of clean sparrows.The taxonomic status of Atoxoplasma is discussed. The type of life cycle and the production of asporous, polyzoic oocysts indicate inclusion of this parasite in the Order Coccidiida, Family Eimeriidae, Sub-Family Cryptosporidiinae Hoare, 1933. After comparison of the two genera, the author concludes that Atoxoplasma must be regarded as a synonym for Lankesterella. Some previously described species of Atoxoplasma are, therefore, transferred to the genus Lankesterella.The name Lankesterella garnhami nov. sp., is proposed for the parasite in the English sparrow (Passer domesticus domesticus), and Lankesterella serini nov. sp., for that in the canary (Serinus canarius).
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1959.tb04385.x
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