Table Of ContentParasitic Protozoa
of Farm Animals
and Pets
Monica Florin-Christensen
Leonhard Schnittger
Editors
123
Parasitic Protozoa of Farm Animals and Pets
Monica Florin-Christensen
Leonhard Schnittger
Editors
Parasitic Protozoa of
Farm Animals and Pets
Editors
Monica Florin-Christensen Leonhard Schnittger
Center for Research on Veterinary Center for Research on Veterinary
and Agronomic Sciences and Agronomic Sciences
National Institute of Agricultural National Institute of Agricultural
Technology Technology
Hurlingham, Argentina Hurlingham, Argentina
National Council of Scientific and National Council of Scientific and
Technological Research (CONICET) Technological Research (CONICET)
Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina
School of Exact, Chemical and Natural School of Exact, Chemical and Natural
Sciences (FCEQN), University of Morón Sciences (FCEQN), University of Morón
Morón, Province of Buenos Aires Morón, Province of Buenos Aires
Argentina Argentina
ISBN 978-3-319-70131-8 ISBN 978-3-319-70132-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70132-5
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Dedicatory
To our children, Nicolas, Ana, Julieta, and Uriel
Contents
1 Introduction into Parasitic Protozoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Leonhard Schnittger and Monica Florin-Christensen
2 Cryptosporidium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Mariela L. Tomazic, Carlos Garro, and Leonhard Schnittger
3 Eimeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Berit Bangoura and Arwid Daugschies
4 Sarcocystis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Cecilia Decker Franco, Leonhard Schnittger, and Monica
Florin-Christensen
5 Neospora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Dadin Prando Moore and Maria Cecilia Venturini
6 Toxoplasma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Gastón Moré, Maria Cecilia Venturini, Lais Pardini, and
Juan Manuel Unzaga
7 Besnoitia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Heinz Mehlhorn
8 Theileria in Ruminants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Henry Kiara, Lucilla Steinaa, Vishvanath Nene, and Nicholas Svitek
9 Babesia in Domestic Ruminants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Sabrina Ganzinelli, Anabel Rodriguez, Leonhard Schnittger, and
Mónica Florin-Christensen
10 Babesia of Domestic Dogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Gad Baneth
11 Equine Piroplasmids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Massaro W. Ueti and Donald P. Knowles
12 Trypanosoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Silvina E. Wilkowsky
vii
viii Contents
13 Leishmania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Anabel Elisa Rodriguez, José Octavio Estévez, María Cecilia Nevot,
Alejandra Barrios, and Monica Florin-Christensen
14 Trichomonas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Esther Collántes-Fernández, Marcelo C. Fort, Luis M. Ortega-Mora,
and Gereon Schares
15 Amoebae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Julia Walochnik
16 Genomics and Genetic Manipulation of Protozoan Parasites
Affecting Farm Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Carlos E. Suarez, Heba F. Alzan, and Brian M. Cooke
About the Editors
Monica Florin-Christensen and Leonhard Schnittger are biologists and
researchers of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research of
Argentina (CONICET). They lead a research group that investigates on molecular
parasitology, focusing on pathogenic protists of veterinary importance, at the
Institute of Pathobiology, National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA,
Argentina). Both are Professors of molecular biology and population genetics at
the School of Exact, Chemical and Natural Sciencies, University of Moron,
Argentina.
ix
Introduction into Parasitic Protozoa 1
Leonhard Schnittger and Monica Florin-Christensen
Abstract
Parasitic protozoans are protists—i.e., unicellular eukaryotes. Besides, they
share the common features of being heterotrophic, motile in at least one of their
stages, and dependent on a host for survival. Protists are a highly diverse evolu-
tionary unrelated grouping that is at present taxonomically divided into at least
five supergroups or eukaryotic kingdoms: SAR, Excavata, Amoebozoa,
Archaeplastida, and Ophistokonta. The protozoan parasites that infect farm ani-
mals and pets, and are the subject of this book, belong to the first three super-
groups. These organisms can cause significant morbidity and mortality in
domestic animals, thus provoking substantial economic losses associated with
livestock production or major concern for pet owners. Additionally, some are
zoonotic and of public health relevance. Human domestication has led to a huge
world population of a few selected farm and pet animals, usually raised in close
proximity. This has provided an ideal and spacious ecological niche for parasitic
protozoans that invade and thrive in these hosts. In addition, international travel
has promoted global distribution of most parasitic protozoa. A long history of
coadaptation has existed between parasites and their wild ancestor hosts, whereas
adaptation to domestic animals has been much shorter from an evolutionary per-
spective. While the first scenario resulted in unapparent infections that ensured
L. Schnittger (*) • M. Florin-Christensen
Center for Research on Veterinary and Agronomic Sciences
National Institute of Agricultural Technology
Hurlingham, Argentina
National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET),
Buenos Aires, Argentina
School of Exact, Chemical and Natural Sciences (FCEQN), University of Morón,
Morón, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1
M. Florin-Christensen, L. Schnittger (eds.), Parasitic Protozoa of Farm Animals
and Pets, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70132-5_1
2 L. Schnittger and M. Florin-Christensen
parasite perpetuation, the second represents an unbalanced situation resulting in
clinical signs and mortality. This calls for continuous efforts in the development
and application of control measures.
1.1 Protozoa as a Subgroup of Protists
Protozoa represent a subgroup of the protists. Then, what are protists? Originally, the
name referred to all eukaryotic unicellular organisms that were joined into the taxo-
nomic kingdom Protista in the year 1866 by Ernst Haeckel. The group of protists was
further subdivided into (1) animal-like protozoans, i.e., heterotrophic/parasitic motile
eukaryotes; (2) plantlike protophyta or algae, i.e., autotrophic unicellular eukaryotes;
and (3) fungus-like saprophytes, i.e., unicellular eukaryotic decomposers with extracel-
lular digestion and spore production. However, with the advancement of science, it
became clear that these subdivisions are artificial, as they do not reflect valid taxonomic
groups based on evolutionary relatedness. Nevertheless, all protists that are non-photo-
synthetic and non-fungus-like are, for convenience, often referred to as protozoans.
The simplest definition of a protist is exclusive: a eukaryote that is neither an ani-
mal nor a plant or a fungus. However, based on genetic similarities or differences,
protists represent a paraphyletic assembly, i.e., an artificial collection of diverse organ-
isms—possibly only connected to the last common eukaryotic ancestor—that spans
the entire eukaryotic tree and consists of at least five monophyletic supergroups. Each
of these supergroups represents a taxonomic kingdom that is more diverse than and
different from the traditional taxonomic kingdoms of animals, plants, or fungi.
Possibly, protists are the least understood group of organisms as compared to prokary-
otes, animals, fungi, and plants. This is likely because they have undergone by far the
most extensive, continuous, and ongoing changes in their classification and naming
over the last decades, making it difficult to approach this group by anybody than the
expert. Consequently, protists have been gradually omitted from most biology text-
books, as noticed by Adl et al. (2007). Protists display an immense morphological
variety at a cellular level, reflecting the extensive capacity of the eukaryotic cell to
evolve and adapt to an enormous diversity of ecological niches. This morphological
variety is, in contrast to higher animals and plants, only accessible—i.e., can only be
visualized and studied—by the use of light or electron microscopy. Importantly, mor-
phological characteristics of protists that can be studied by light microscopy—e.g., an
amoeboid cell form—are often counterintuitive with regard to their phylogenetic ori-
gin as they may represent convergent evolutionary developments. They are therefore
of limited value to classify and scientifically name these organisms. In contrast, ultra-
structural differences that can only be appreciated by electron microscope studies—
e.g., the apical complex of apicomplexan protozoans—reveal character traits that
often allow recognition and delineation of phylogenetically related groups.
