Anoplocephalid tapeworms in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) inhabiting the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

0580526 - ÚBO 2025 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Červená, Barbora - Prokopová, T. - Cameira, R. M. - Pafčo, Barbora - Samaš, Peter - Romportl, D. - Uwamahoro, C. - Noheri, J. B. - Ntwari, A. E. - Bahizi, M. - Nzayisenga, G. - Nziza, J. - Gilardi, K. - Eckardt, W. - Ndagijimana, F. - Mudakikwa, A. - Muvunyi, R. - Uwingeli, P. - Cranfield, M. - Šlapeta, J. - Petrželková, Klára Judita - Modrý, D.
Anoplocephalid tapeworms in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) inhabiting the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
Parasitology. Roč. 151, č. 2 (2024), s. 135-150. ISSN 0031-1820. E-ISSN 1469-8161
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : Anoplocephala * Anoplocephalidae * Bertiella * Gorilla beringei * Mountain gorilla * parasite ecology * parasite epidemiology * Rwanda
OECD category: Zoology
Impact factor: 2.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/parasitology/article/anoplocephalid-tapeworms-in-mountain-gorillas-gorilla-beringei-beringei-inhabiting-the-volcanoes-national-park-rwanda/6F911F5BB08C4A539D8B1811D57AA568

Cestodes of the family Anoplocephalidae parasitize a wide range of usually herbivorous hosts including e.g., rodents, ungulates, primates, elephants, and hyraxes. While in some hosts, the epidemiology of the infection is well studied, information is lacking in others. In this study of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif, an extensive sample set comprising adult cestodes collected via necropsies, proglottids shed in faeces, and finally, faecal samples from both night nests and identified individuals were analyzed. Anoplocephala gorillae was the dominant cestode species detected in night nest samples and individually-known gorillas, of which only one individual hosted a Bertiella sp. It was shown that the two species can be distinguished through microscopy based on egg morphology and provide PCR assays for diagnostics of both species. Sequences of mitochondrial (cox 1) and nuclear (ITS1, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA) markers were used to evaluate the phylogenetic position of the two cestodes detected in mountain gorillas. Both types of faecal samples, from night nests and from identified individuals, provided comparable information about the prevalence of anoplocephalid cestodes, although the analysis of samples collected from identified gorilla individuals showed significant intra-individual fluctuation of A. gorillae egg shedding within a short period. Therefore, multiple samples should be examined to obtain reliable data for wildlife health management programs, especially when application of anthelmintic treatment is considered. However, while A. gorillae is apparently a common symbiont of mountain gorillas it does not seem to impair the health of its host.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0349296