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High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment?

Pardo Gil, Miguel; Hegglin, Daniel; Briner, Thomas; Ruetten, Maja; Müller, Norbert; Moré, Gastón; Frey, Caroline F; Deplazes, Peter; Basso, Walter (2023). High prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cat-hunted small mammals - Evidence for parasite induced behavioural manipulation in the natural environment? International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 20:108-116.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii causes one of the most frequent parasitic infections in vertebrates on earth. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence of T. gondii infection in cat-hunted wild small mammals, and to determine the circulating T. gondii genotypes in cat prey. There is evidence suggesting that T. gondii may manipulate rodents' behaviour enhancing transmission to their definitive feline host by facilitating predation. Given that most studies focusing on rodent behavior have been performed under laboratory conditions, we tested this hypothesis in the natural environment. We analysed 157 cat-hunted wild small mammals of six different species from Switzerland. Brain and skeletal muscle samples from each animal were tested for T. gondii DNA by PCR, and positive samples were genotyped using a multilocus sequence typing approach, including 10 genetic markers. Additionally, to evaluate exposure to cat faeces, the presence of Taenia taeniaeformis metacestodes was investigated at necropsy. The prevalence of T. gondii in cat-hunted Arvicola amphibius s.l. was 11.1% (7/63), 14.6% (7/48) in Apodemus spp., 13.6% (3/22) in Myodes glareolus, 6.7% (1/15) in Crocidura russula, and 0% in Microtus arvalis (0/8) and Sorex sp. (0/1). All completely genotyped T. gondii parasites, exhibited the ToxoDB #3 genotype, a Type II variant. We additionally analysed 48 trap-captured A. amphibius s.l., which all tested negative for T. gondii infection, contrasting with the higher prevalence in cat-hunted A. amphibius s.l. (0% vs. 11.1%; p = 0.0176). Furthermore, T. taeniaeformis was detected in both groups, indicating widespread contamination with cat faeces in the sampled areas. These results provide evidence that T. gondii infected rodents are at higher risk to be predated by cats and therewith support the behaviour manipulation hypothesis.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:05 Vetsuisse Faculty > Veterinärwissenschaftliches Institut > Institute of Parasitology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Parasitology
Dewey Decimal Classification:600 Technology
610 Medicine & health
570 Life sciences; biology
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > Parasitology
Life Sciences > Animal Science and Zoology
Health Sciences > Infectious Diseases
Uncontrolled Keywords:Infectious Diseases, Animal Science and Zoology, Parasitology
Language:English
Date:1 April 2023
Deposited On:04 Jan 2024 12:46
Last Modified:30 Oct 2024 02:39
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:2213-2244
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.007
PubMed ID:36747510
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  • Language: English
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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