The Trypanosomes of Mammals. A Zoological Monograph

Microalgal biomass is a potential feed ingredient that can replace fishmeal and ensure sustainability standards in aquaculture. To understand the efficacy of the defatted biomass from the marine microalga, Desmodesmus sp. a 70-day feeding study was performed with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts. Three groups of fish (av. wt. 167 g) were offered either a control feed (without the microalga) or the microalga-containing (10/20%) feeds. At the end of the feeding period, the growth indices (condition factor, specific growth rate) and survival of the microalga-fed fish were not significantly different from the respective values of the control fish, but the feed conversion ratios were inferior. The proximate composition of the whole body of salmon from the three groups did not vary significantly. Compared to the control fish, the alga-fed fish had lower lipid content (10% alga-fed fish) in their fillet. The protein and lipid digestibility in the three feeds did not differ significantly, but the digestibility of energy in the 10% alga-feed was significantly lower than that of the control feed. Furthermore, comparison of the distal intestinal proteome of Atlantic salmon revealed that the expressions of Alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein-like (Ahsg), Myosin-11 isoform X1 (My11) and Dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, mitochondrial-like (Dld) were altered by the microalgal feeding. Examination of the physiological status of the fish based on the serum antioxidant capacities did not reveal any alga-feed-related differences. Moreover, the expression of the selected immune and inflammatory marker genes and the micromorphological observations did not indicate any aberration in the intestinal health of the microalga-fed fish. It is possible to include 20% of defatted Desmodesmus sp. in the feeds of Atlantic salmon.

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Defatted Biomass of the Microalga, Desmodesmus sp., Can Replace Fishmeal in the Feeds for Atlantic salmon

Cell shape is one, often overlooked, way in which protozoan parasites have adapted to a variety of host and vector environments and directional transmissions between these environments. Consequently, different parasite life cycle stages have characteristic morphologies. Trypanosomatid parasites are an excellent example of this in which large morphological variations between species and life cycle stage occur, despite sharing well-conserved cytoskeletal and membranous structures. Here, using previously published reports in the literature of the morphology of 248 isolates of trypanosomatid species from different hosts, we perform a meta-analysis of the occurrence and limits on morphological diversity of different classes of trypanosomatid morphology (trypomastigote, promastigote, etc.) in the vertebrate bloodstream and invertebrate gut environments. We identified several limits on cell body length, cell body width and flagellum length diversity which can be interpreted as biomechanical limits on the capacity of the cell to attain particular dimensions. These limits differed for morphologies with and without a laterally attached flagellum which we suggest represent two morphological superclasses, the ‘juxtaform’ and ‘liberform’ superclasses. Further limits were identified consistent with a selective pressure from the mechanical properties of the vertebrate bloodstream environment; trypanosomatid size showed limits relative to host erythrocyte dimensions. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the limits of morphological diversity in any protozoan parasite, revealing the morphogenetic constraints and extrinsic selection pressures associated with the full diversity of trypanosomatid morphology.

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The limits on trypanosomatid morphological diversity.

This is the largest and most important recent work dealing with the as a group; but as it deals with various other subjects also-most of them of special interest to readers of this Bulletin-it seems desirable to indicate its contents more particularly. The work is divided into six main parts, of unequal length: (i) " General description of the Other CABI sites  Protozoa, " pp. 1-152 (Vol. I); (ii) " Systematic description of the Protozoa, " pp. 153-778 (Vol. I) and 779-1229 (Vol. II); (iii) " Spirochaetes, " pp. 1231-1288 (Vol. II); (iv) " Methods of investigation and Rules of Nomenclature, " pp. 1289-1349 (Vol. II); (v) " Blood Vertebrates and Trypanosomidac of Invertebrates, " pp. 1351-1414 (Vol. II); (vi) " References to literature-Protozoa and Spirochaetes, " pp. 1415-1514 (Vol. II). A full index to both volumes (46 pages) terminates Vol. II. With so variegated an assortment of subjects before him, the reviewer experiences some embarrassment in trying to consider the work as a whole; and he has to confess, in the first place, that the title " Protozoology " seems to him a misnomer. Apart from the fact that the same name has already been given to another well-known treatise on the Protozoa by CALKINS (1909)-a book not mentioned, by the way, even among the references-and also to a current periodical, it certainly does not adequately describe the contents of the present volumes. " Protozoology " is properly the name of the whole science of the Protozoa (excluding the Spirochaetes). and it appears no more applicable to the work under review than the title "Mathematics" would be to a book dealing with the differential calculus. For Wenyon's work is essentially a book on medical protozoologyusing the term in its best sense. It deals chiefly with those Protozoa (and Spirochaetes)" which arc of particular interest to medical men, but deals with them in a manner agreeable to the conventions and canons of zoologists. It might perhaps be appropriately described as " A Dictionary of Protozoa and Spirochaetes for readers of the Tropical Diseases Bulletin." If anyone here seeks up-to-date information about most of those familiar " types " of Protozoa cherished by our instructors in " Elementary Biology, " he will seek in vain. He will here find no adequate account, for example, of " Amoeba proteus "-practically nothing about its morphology, physiology, life-history, or about methods for its cultivation, and no mention of the divers species (and even genera) into which it has been resolved; and he will find but one picture of it-dating from the year 1879-borrowed from a book to which no reference is given in the bibliography. Far more is now known of this and a host of other common protozoa than the present work might lead the uninstructed to imagine. But on the other hand, the reader will here find accurate and detailed information regarding the intestinal amoebae of man and other animals accompanied by copious illustrations and references: while of the Trypanosomidae, again, he will find a full, up-to-date, well illustrated, and abundantly documented account, such as he cannot find in any other single work yet published. But it is perhaps unfair to criticize the main title, since the subtitle qualifies it by saying that the work is intended for " medical men, veterinarians, and zoologists "-the order of precedence evidently implying that it is for medical men first, and for zoologists last of all. Again, the subtitle of the systematic section (Part II)-which forms the chief part of the treatise-definitely restricts the Protozoa to be dealt with mainly to " parasitic and coprozoic forms "; while it obviously would not have occurred to any zoologist, writing for zoologists, to reprint the International Code of Nomenclature in a monograph on the Protozoa. Moreover, the inevitable criticism that the Spirochaetes are improperly comprised in a book on Protozoology is forestalled by the author in his preface, where he says that " though it is definitely maintained [by him] that they are not Protozoa, " they have been included because " the study of spirochaetes is intimately related to that of the Protozoa, especially in connexion with blood work." It seems clear, therefore, that this treatise is intended as a comprehensive contribution to medical protozoology: and as such it is undoubtedly the best which has yet appeared in any language. The classification employed does not, as a whole, depart in any notable particular from the best traditions, though several novel names "are used. One curious result of the systematic arrangement adopted for the Mastigophora may, however, be noted. The author puts the Cystoflagel-lata in the sub-class Zoomastigina, and mentions only a single representative-Noctiluca; while he places the Dinoflagellata in a different subclass-the Phytomastigina. Most protozoologists are now agreed, however, that Noctiluca dinoilagellatc, as BÜTSCHLI long ago suggested: and to separate it from the rest of the Dinoflagellata by so great a gap as is here implied is surely difficult to justify. (It is, indeed, as difficult to understand as the omission of all reference to CHATION'S extensive work on the parasitic Dinoflagellata-a work which ought surely to be at least mentioned in any treatise on parasitic protozoa.) On p. 152 the reviewer is credited with the concept that the Protozoa constitute a sub-kingdom, rather than a phylum, of the animal Kingdom. He certainly holds this view, but never claimed to have originated it: for it was expressed, in the English literature, by J. R. GREENE as long ago as 1863; it was shared by no less an expert than O. BÜTSCHLI (19IO); and its truth is assumed by everyone who uses the word "Metazoa." To those who regard the Protozoa from a zoological rather than a medical standpoint, the sections dealing with general biological and cytological topics will probably appear least satisfactory. Part I, moreover, contains numerous loosely-worded statements which even the author himself can hardly be prepared to defend seriously. (For example: " Protozoa may be of almost any conceivable shape " (p. 19); and " all Rhizopoda .... are able to encyst under certain conditions " (p. 23).) Nevertheless, the reviewer acknowledges that when reading this book, he has sometimes been in doubt whether statements which appear erroneous may not, in reality, have been made deliberately. They may be due to excess rather than to lack of knowledge. But whichever be the correct interpretation, the author has surely performed a remarkable feat in writing a section on " cytoplasmic inclusions the Protozoa without so much as mentioning mitochondria or the Golgi apparatus Doubtless he also has reasons for using various accepted terms in an unconventional way: yet it may be pointed out that to write " synkarion " (for synkaryon); to speak of certain animals as " saprophytic " (instead of saprozoic); and to use " free-living " (properly the opposite of parasitic, sensu lato) as the antithesis of sessile, is to employ a terminology which is not countenanced by the best biological usage. The accounts of typically free-living groups-such as the Radiolaria, Foraminifera, or Mycetozoa-appear to the reviewer unworthy of those dealing with parasitic forms. Of the three groups just mentioned, for example, not one is described in terms commensurate with modern knowledge; while most of the classical monographs on all three are missing from the references. On matters of ancient history, also, the work, as a whole, is deficient, though on recent developments of the medical aspects of the science it is almost incredibly up-to-date. It seems to the reviewer a mistake thus to focus attention on so many ephemeral productions of the present day, and to ignore the more lasting background upon which they now cast a fleeting image. It also seems to him remarkable that a work of this magnitude, and with this outlook, should totally ignore the first great contribution to applied protozoology-PASTEUR'S " Maladies des vers à soie." But the reviewer realizes that this is probably because he is himself particularly interested in the early history of the subject, while the author manifestly is not: and he is well aware that, in this, modern medical opinion will side with the author. By far the best parts of the book are-in the reviewer's opinion-those dealing with organisms which the author has himself investigated, and upon which he has previously published many well-known original memoirs. On such things as Leishmania coccidiosis, and the intestinal protozoa of man and other animals, he writes with first-hand knowledge and therefore writes with authority; and he here discusses facts and expresses views and conclusions which deserve-and will surely receive the careful consideration of his co-workers. It is, indeed, safe to prophesy that no future worker on such subjects-at any rate for many a year to come-will be able to conduct his researches without frequent reference to these two volumes. In compiling them the author has laid all students of the parasitic protozoa under a deep obligation; and no working protozoologist can, in future, afford to be without them. Considering the vast size and scope of this work, it appears to he relatively free from typographical errors, and those detected are for the most part trivial. It may be noted, however, that several proper names are misspelled throughout (e.g. " Muslow " for MULSOW, " Oltmann " for OLTMANNS); and that the organism shown in fig. 23-which is there called " Cothurina, " but whose name is amended in the errata to " Cothurinia really Cothurnia. Fig. 13 is labelled " Holomastigoides "-evidently a misprint for Holomastigotoides (or possibly Holomastigotes), since there is no such genus: yet the picture shows a Pseudotrichonympha. A new genus Spirillonema-is seemingly proposed, in an unorthodox manner, on p. 747, though the name is first used on an earlier page (p. 739, wrongly indexe

Protozoology., A manual for medical men, veterinarians and zoologists. 2 Volumes., By C.M. WENYON., xvi 1563 pages. 565 textfigures and 20 plates. Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, London, 1926 (4.4.0)

Background
Haemoparasites in feral pigeons have been studied in several countries but no data are available from Italy. The aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence and diversity of Haemoproteus spp./Plasmodium spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. in feral pigeons from northwest Italy, as well as the association between infection and host age or sex.

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Prevalence of new and known species of haemoparasites in feral pigeons in northwest Italy

During 39 months of sampling, the prevalence of apicomplexan parasites (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium) was studied in Columba livia Gmelin of Rohilkhand region, UP, India, according to the sex of the host, different seasons and host localities. Out of 266 pigeons sampled, 148 pigeons were positive for Haemoproteus at a prevalence of 55.63%. Only 18 pigeons (2.67%) had a dual Haemoproteus and Plasmodium infection and 130 pigeons (48.87%) had Haemoproteus infection. No pigeons were positive for Plasmodium alone. Parasite incidence in relation to the sex of the host indicated a higher infestation in females (62.79%) as compared to males (57.65%). The overall highest infectivity of parasites was recorded during the summer season (82.85%) followed by spring season (59.37%) and least in the winter season (42.30%). It was also observed that Haemoproteus occurred at diverse infectivity in C. livia from different localities (Badaun 51.35%, Bareilly 57.14%, and Shajahanpur 58.06%) whereas Plasmodium was recorded at 11.18% only from Bareilly. The intensity of the parasite was highest (2.77/100 RBC) at Shahjahanpur.

Distribution pattern of apicomplexan parasites (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) in Columba livia, Gmelin.

Parapharyngodon hemidactylii n. sp. (Nematoda : Oxyuridae) from the rectum of the Indian wall lizard Hemidactylus flaviviridis (n=359) is described. The parasite occurred at 79.10% (Prevalence) and 5 par/host (Mean intensity). It is compared critically with the earlier reported species based on its taxo-metric assessment. The differences in smaller size of male and female worm [male : 0.755 (0.47–0.96); female : 3.47 (2.47–4.05)], position of vulva [1.44 (1.20–1.7), tail measurements [male : 0.065 (0.01–0.09); female : 0.11 x 0.063 (0.075–0.135 x 0.045–0.10)], absence of caudal papillae and oval shaped eggs of the nematode from H. flaviviridis merits new species status.

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Gastro-intestinal invasion in Hemidactylus flaviviridis with a new species of Parapharyngodon (Oxyuroidea : Pharyngodonidae)

This study describes the influence of parasitism (Trypanosoma lewisi and Cysticercus fasciolaris) on the condition factor, hepato and splenosomatic indices of the common house rat, Rattus rattus Linnaeus, 1758 from Rohilkhand, Uttar Pradesh, India. Examination of R. rattus (n = 389) revealed T. lewisi (prevalence 12.40 %; intensity14 parasites/1000 RBC) from the blood and C. fasciolaris (larval Taenia taeniaeformis) (prevalence 46.70 %; intensity 2–4 par/host) from the liver. Condition factor (K) and organosomatic indices [hepatosomatic index, spleenosomatic index (SSI)] were evaluated in two groups (Group I non pregnant, Group II pregnant) of female rats which were further subdivided into four subgroups each (a Uninfected, b T. lewisi infected, c C. fasciolaris infected, d T. lewisi and C. fasciolaris infected) belonging to three weight groups (A 50–100 g; B 100–150 g; C 150–200 g). The results indicated that reduction in K-factor was more apparent in young rats, Group Ic (weight category A) showing the maximum depletion (21.62 %), hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were frequent outcomes of parasitic infection and maximum change (50 %) was recorded in dual-infected pregnant rats (Group IId) expressed as SSI of the infected rat. The abnormal condition factor and organosomatic indices indicate perturbations in the biological systems at the organismal level. Thus, the information generated through this piece of work is a warning of an incipient or impending problem.

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Condition factor and organosomatic indices of parasitized Rattus rattus as indicators of host health.

The prevalence, intensity and morpho-variants of new species of haemosporida (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium) from the rock pigeon, Columba livia are described and illustrated for the first time from Uttar Pradesh state of India. Thin blood smears from 266 C. livia indicated 55.63% (Haemoproteus) and 6.76% (Plasmodium) prevalence and 1–6 pars/100 RBC’s (Haemoproteus) and 1–2 pars/100 RBC’s (Plasmodium) intensity of infection. The fully grown intracellular gametocytes of Haemoproteus were differentiated into microgametocyte (14.0 × 4.3 μm) and macrogametocyte (13.9 × 4.7 μm). Extracorpuscular gametocyte (15.0–17.8 μm in length, 3.9–7.3 μm in width) were occasionally visible. Nuclear displacement ratio was 0.2. Plasmodium species was characterized by rounded schizonts and elongated microgametocyte (7.8 × 7.6 μm) and macrogametocyte (7.8 × 7.7 μm) with irregular margins. Cells containing schizonts are often rounded and enlarged and those parasitized by gametocytes may be somewhat distorted in shape by lateral hypertrophy. Host cell nuclei are also displaced. Double gametocyte infection of Haemoproteus occasionally present but that of Plasmodium lacking.

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New records of Haemoproteus and Plasmodium (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) of rock pigeon (Columba livia) in India

Background: The genus Pallisentis is an endoparasitic acanthocephalan inhabit­ing the intestinal walls. Hooks and spines of the worm are significant taxonomical and adaptive tools. Methods: The parasites were fixed, dehydrated and examined under Olym­pus BX 53 Microscope with DIC attachment, digital camera and CELLSENS imag­ing system [Light microscopy (LM)] and ﬁxed in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer, dehydrated, rotary-coated with gold palladium in NeoCoater 100-240V and examined in Neo JCM-6000 [scanning electron microscopy (SEM)]. Results: P. punctati n. sp. (prevalence 65.51%; mean intensity 3-6 par/host) is de­scribed. Females almost twice as large as males; proboscis hooks small; collar spine rows similar [16] and constant in both sexes but number of spines per row greater in females [22] than males [14]; trunk spine rows 28-39 (spines per row 14-18) in females and 20-26 (spines per row 10-12) in males. spine length of females almost twice as long as males, spines extend up to posterior testis in males and ¾ of total body length in females, Saefftigen’s pouch present, nuclei in cement gland 10-11, seminal vesicle, bursa and egg size small. SEM indicated lack of micro sculptures, and spines embedded on pre-trunk and trunk. Sex-based differences apparent (hook sizes, greater number of spines per row and longer spines in pre-trunk and trunk of females). Male trunk spine was narrower and of lateral spine with characteristic hooked appearance. Conclusion: A new species of Pallisentis based on LM and SEM is described, sexual diversity in hook and spine structure is reported.

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D. K. Gupta

Papers

Distribution pattern of apicomplexan parasites (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) in Columba livia, Gmelin.

Gastro-intestinal invasion in Hemidactylus flaviviridis with a new species of Parapharyngodon (Oxyuroidea : Pharyngodonidae)

Condition factor and organosomatic indices of parasitized Rattus rattus as indicators of host health.

New records of Haemoproteus and Plasmodium (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) of rock pigeon (Columba livia) in India

Description of Pallisentis (Brevitritospinus) punctati n. sp. (Acanthocephala: Quadrigyridae) from Channa punctatus in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.