Parasitic nematode communities of the red kangaroo, Macropus rufus: richness and structuring in captive systems

Captive management practices have the potential to drastically alter pre-existing host-parasite relationships. This can have profound implications for the health and productivity of threatened species in captivity, even in the absence of clinical symptoms of disease. Maximising the success of captiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2015-08, Vol.114 (8), p.2925-2932
Main Authors: Lott, M. J., Hose, G. C., Power, M. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Zoo
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - genetics
Health aspects
Host-parasite relationships
Identification and classification
Immunology
Kangaroos
Macropodidae
Medical Microbiology
Microbiology
Nematoda - classification
Nematoda - genetics
Nematoda - isolation & purification
Nematode Infections - parasitology
Nematode Infections - veterinary
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques - methods
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques - veterinary
Original Paper
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Roundworms
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Summary:Captive management practices have the potential to drastically alter pre-existing host-parasite relationships. This can have profound implications for the health and productivity of threatened species in captivity, even in the absence of clinical symptoms of disease. Maximising the success of captive breeding programmes requires a detailed knowledge of anthropogenic influences on the structure of parasite assemblages in captive systems. In this study, we employed two high-throughput molecular techniques to characterise the parasitic nematode (suborder Strongylida) communities of the red kangaroo, Macropus rufus, across seven captive sites. The first was terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of a region of rDNA encompassing the internal transcribed spacers 1 (ITS1), the 5.8S rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). The second was Illumina MiSeq next-generation sequencing of the ITS2 region. The prevalence, intensity of infection, taxonomic composition and comparative structure of strongylid nematode assemblages was assessed at each location. Prevalence (P = 
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-015-4494-z