Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Dina M. Metwally, Shurug A. Albasyouni, Ibrahim A. H. Barakat, Isra M. Al-Turaiki, Amal M. Almuhanna, Muhammad A. Bashir, Hanadi B. Baghdadi, Manal F. El-Khadragy, Reem A. Alajmi
Summary: The study investigated the prevalence of Oestrus ovis larvae in sheep and goats' heads from abattoirs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Season had no significant effect on sheep larvae characteristics, except for larval length, while goats had significantly higher L3 instar numbers in summer. Molecular analysis confirmed the presence of O. ovis larvae, closely related to those in GenBank.
Article
Entomology
Wentian Xu, Xinyu Li, Qike Wang, Chenglin Zhang, Minghai Yang, Tongshan Zhou, Kai Li, Dong Zhang
Summary: Gyrostigma rhinocerontis, the rhinoceros bot fly, is a rare intestinal parasite of rhinoceroses that causes severe myiasis and secondary infection. This study examines the antennal characteristics of G. rhinocerontis and finds that they have larger antennae with more sensilla and sensory pits than other Oestridae species, which may help them locate their rare hosts.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Moises Exposito-Alonso, Tom R. Booker, Lucas Czech, Lauren Gillespie, Shannon Hateley, Christopher C. Kyriazis, Patricia L. M. Lang, Laura Leventhal, David Nogues-Bravo, Veronica Pagowski, Megan Ruffley, Jeffrey P. Spence, Sebastian E. Toro Arana, Clemens L. Weiss, Erin Zess
Summary: Anthropogenic habitat loss and climate change are causing reduction in species' geographic ranges, increasing extinction risk, and loss of genetic diversity. Researchers have developed a mathematical framework that links biodiversity theory and population genetics to understand the loss of naturally occurring DNA mutations due to habitat loss. By analyzing genomic variation in 10,095 individuals from 20 plant and animal species, they found that genome-wide diversity follows a mutations-area relationship power law, which can predict genetic diversity loss from local population extinctions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. Davis Barnes, Judith A. Sclafani, Andrew Zaffos
Summary: The term "dead clades walking" (DCWs) was coined to describe marine fossil orders that do not rediversify to previous levels after significant drops in genus richness during mass extinction events. Analysis of fossil occurrences of 134 skeletonized marine invertebrate orders suggests that many of these DCWs orders persist for a long duration (>30 Myr), impacting taxonomic diversity even beyond extinction events. The prevalence of DCW orders across mass and background extinction intervals in various phyla indicates that the DCW pattern is a major component of macroevolutionary turnover.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
F. Samu, E. Szita, E. Botos, J. Simon, N. Galle-Szpisjak, R. Galle
Summary: There is limited data on recent trends in arthropod groups other than insects, such as spiders, despite evidence of widespread insect decline. This study observed changes in a spider community over a 23-year period in an alfalfa field and its margin. Spider abundance decreased significantly, while species richness and characteristics remained largely unchanged. The population decline suggests a reduction of spider populations at landscape and regional scales.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Taku Kadoya, Yayoi Takeuchi, Yushin Shinoda, Keisuke Nansai
Summary: Forest disturbance, especially shifting agriculture, is a major driver of forest biodiversity decline at a global scale. This study quantifies the spatial overlaps between threatened terrestrial vertebrate species and five major forest disturbance drivers, revealing the varying importance of each driver among species groups and geographic regions. Combining forest disturbance maps and species ranges can help prioritize conservation efforts to reduce further biodiversity loss.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Scott D. Evans, Chenyi Tu, Adriana Rizzo, Rachel L. Surprenant, Phillip C. Boan, Heather McCandless, Nathan Marshall, Shuhai Xiao, Mary L. Droser
Summary: The Ediacara Biota consists of three distinct assemblages, with the White Sea assemblage experiencing a notable decline in diversity compared to the Avalon and Nama assemblages. The decline in diversity is not due to sampling bias, but rather is likely driven by an environmentally driven extinction event. This study supports a link between Ediacaran biotic turnover and global environmental change.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samuel R. P-J Ross, Jean-Francois Arnoldi, Michel Loreau, Cian D. White, Jane C. Stout, Andrew L. Jackson, Ian Donohue
Summary: The study shows that the responses of ecosystem services to species losses are context-dependent and that there are universal drivers that define the network fragility, which can predict the robustness of empirical ecosystem services. It provides insights into how species, functional traits, and links between them determine the vulnerability of ecosystem service supply to biodiversity loss.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geology
Shu-Han Zhang, Shu-Zhong Shen, Douglas H. Erwin
Summary: This study investigates the patterns of latitudinal diversity gradients (LDGs) from the Carboniferous icehouse to the Triassic greenhouse climates using marine invertebrate fossils. The results suggest that LDG peaks are influenced by multiple factors rather than solely alternating icehouse and greenhouse climates, with icehouse climates generally restricting diversity at high latitudes. The diversity peaks shifted northward during the late Carboniferous and early Permian, likely due to plate drift and increased habitat area. Changes in LDG steepness were most pronounced at low latitudes and during biotic crises and recovery, while transitions from icehouse to greenhouse climates created more deviation at high latitudes.
Article
Business
Samuel Jack Anthony, Angus Morrison-Saunders
Summary: Corporations are neglecting their impact on biodiversity and primarily focus on protecting biodiversity that provides material benefits for humans. However, some corporations are also considering extinction risks and intrinsic value, which offers hope for the protection of all forms of biodiversity and can influence business strategies.
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tyrone Lavery, David Lindenmayer, Wade Blanchard, Alex Carey, Emma Cook, Peter Copley, Nicholas A. Macgregor, Rhonda Melzer, Catherine Nano, Laura Prentice, Ben C. Scheele, Steve Sinclair, Darren Southwell, Stephanie Stuart, Melinda Wilson, John Woinarski
Summary: Monitoring of threatened plants in Australia is low in both rate and quality compared to threatened vertebrates. Plants with higher conservation status and recovery plans are more likely to be monitored. However, there is a lack of collated monitoring data for plants, highlighting the need for improvements in plant monitoring for biodiversity conservation.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Brian C. Weeks, Shahid Naeem, Jesse R. Lasky, Joseph A. Tobias
Summary: Increasing biodiversity reduces extinction risk and maintaining high levels of overall biodiversity is crucial for species conservation targets.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marius Munschek, Reinhard Witt, Katrin Kaltofen, Josiane Segar, Christian Wirth, Alexandra Weigelt, Rolf A. Engelmann, Ingmar R. Staude
Summary: Conservation gardening is a socio-ecological approach to address the decline of native plant species and transform the gardening industry into a conservation tool. However, information on suitable plants, their ecological requirements, and commercial availability is limited. This study used Germany as a case study and developed a workflow to bridge this knowledge gap. The findings reveal a significant number of red-listed plant species suitable for conservation gardening and the potential for long-term urban planning and climate adaptation.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Entomology
Marco Pezzi, Stjepan Krcmar, Federica Mendicino, Francesco Carlomagno, Domenico Bonelli, Chiara Scapoli, Milvia Chicca, Marilena Leis, Teresa Bonacci
Summary: This is the first reported case of myiasis caused by Lucilia sericata in a domestic goose in Italy, providing important information for monitoring and management in the field.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adam Woodhouse, Anshuman Swain, William F. F. Fagan, Andrew J. J. Fraass, Christopher M. M. Lowery
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change has caused the geographic ranges of marine organisms to shift polewards. However, it is uncertain to what extent species will move and whether these range shifts will lead to extinction. Understanding the evolution of marine biodiversity patterns and the factors influencing them is crucial in interpreting these current trends.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Giovanni Sgroi, Roberta Iatta, Riccardo Paolo Lia, Ettore Napoli, Francesco Buono, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Vincenzo Veneziano, Domenico Otranto
Summary: Citizen science can involve community members and individuals in research, aside from professional scientists. By collecting samples from hunters and their dogs in southern Italy, this study found a high prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks, indicating a significant risk of exposure for hunters and their hunting dogs during hunting activities.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Alireza Sazmand, Zahra Bahiraei, Farzad Nemati, Giada Annoscia, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Hassan Nayebzadeh, Amir Masoud Salemi, Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi, Seyed Mahmoud Sadjjadi, Domenico Otranto
Summary: This study investigated Cercopithifilaria spp. and O. lupi filarioids in dogs from different regions of Iran. Skin biopsies from 583 dogs were examined, and microfilariae of Cercopithifilaria spp. were found in 5.5% of the dogs, with infection rates reaching 25% in Kermanshah. However, no microfilariae were detected in skin biopsy samples from dogs in Khorramabad and Ahvaz, as well as in the examined jackals and cats. The morphologic and morphometric characteristics confirmed the presence of C. bainae.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Elias Papadopoulos, Anastasia Komnenou, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Domenico Otranto
Summary: Thelazia callipaeda, a zoonotic eyeworm transmitted by lachryphagus drosophilids, has spread in both Europe and the United States in recent years. This study reports brown bears as hosts of T. callipaeda for the first time, indicating a potential role in the maintenance of the parasite’s life cycle.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Maria Stefania Latrofa, Viviana Domenica Tarallo, Ranju R. S. Manoj, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Giada Annoscia, Roberta Iatta, Domenico Otranto
Summary: The study investigated the prevalence and distribution of L. tarentolae in reptilian hosts and the presence of L. infantum in the same animals in southern Italy. The results indicate that saurian reptiles living in CanL endemic areas may be exposed to both L. tarentolae and L. infantum simultaneously.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Alireza Sazmand, Marc Desquesnes, Domenico Otranto
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Chioma Inyang Aneke, Adela Cmokova, Vit Hubka, Wafa Rhimi, Domenico Otranto, Claudia Cafarchia
Summary: This study analyzed the population structure and relationships between M. canis strains collected in southern Italy and those isolated from animals and humans. The results showed that MLST approach is not useful for detailed subtyping and examining the population structure of M. canis, while microsatellite analysis is a powerful tool for conducting surveillance studies and gaining insight into the epidemiology of infections due to this pathogen.
Article
Biology
Maria Alfonsa Cavalera, Andrea Zatelli, Rossella Donghia, Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Floriana Gernone, Domenico Otranto, Roberta Iatta
Summary: This study found that conjunctival swab (CS) real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) had unsatisfactory diagnostic and prognostic performance for canine leishmaniosis (CanL). Even with highly sensitive qPCR detecting Leishmania infantum kDNA, it should be accompanied by significant clinical score for CanL and/or other direct diagnostic tests positivity. In seropositive dogs with CS qPCR positivity, sampling time and season variability of results should be considered.
Article
Parasitology
E. Napoli, R. Panarese, F. La Russa, I Cambera, J. A. Mendoza-Roldan, D. Otranto, E. Brianti
Summary: The potential involvement of Culicoides spp. in the transmission of Dirofilaria spp. as well as the blood-meal source was investigated. The detection of D. immitis and D. repens DNA in Culicoides midges suggests their potential role in the epidemiology of these filarial nematodes.
Article
Microbiology
Andrea Grassi, Matteo Gambini, Marianna Pantoli, Simona Toscano, Anna Albertetti, Deborah Maria Del Frassino, Iniobong Chukwuebuka Ikenna Ugochukwu, Orazio Romeo, Domenico Otranto, Claudia Cafarchia
Summary: This study described a case of lethal Cladosporium allicinum infection in a captive bullfrog in Europe. The infection was confirmed by histology, cytology, and molecular methods. Despite antifungal treatment, the frog died, highlighting the poor prognosis of Cladosporium infections in animals.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Anna Morea, Angela Stufano, Giovanni Sgroi, Leonarda De Benedictis, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Vincenzo Veneziano, Domenico Otranto, Piero Lovreglio, Roberta Iatta
Summary: This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of L. infantum in different groups of outdoor workers and identified veterinarians as having the highest seroprevalence. It highlights the importance of increased occupational health surveillance and collaboration among different experts to prevent the spread of this disease.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Sina Mohtasebi, Alireza Sazmand, Salman Zafari, Guilherme G. G. Verocai, Domenico Otranto
Summary: This report summarizes the scientific information available from 1980 to 2022 on the occurrence of lungworms in non-ruminant mammals and humans in Iran. A total of 10 lungworm species belonging to seven genera were reported. The prevalence of lungworm infection varied among different animal species. Rating: 8/10.
Review
Microbiology
Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos, Lucia Oliveira de Macedo, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Gilcia Aparecida de Carvalho, Guilherme Gomes Verocai, Domenico Otranto
Summary: Species of Ixodiphagus are parasitoid wasps that develop inside ticks. Adult female wasps lay eggs inside ticks, and the larvae feed on the internal contents before emerging as adult wasps. Ixodiphagus has been reported as a parasitoid of multiple tick species. The most studied species, Ixodiphagus hookeri, has shown potential for reducing tick populations, although control attempts have faced challenges.
Review
Parasitology
Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, R. C. Andrew Thompson, David Modry, Domenico Otranto
Summary: Invasive wild mammals pose a major threat to native ecosystems and can act as spreaders of zoonotic parasites. Europe has the highest number of zoonotic parasites associated with invasive wild mammals.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Viviane Noll Louzada-Flores, Nouha Lekouch, Intissar Khouchfi, Giada Annoscia, Andrea Zatelli, Frederic Beugnet, Julia Walochnik, Domenico Otranto
Summary: This study investigated the presence of parasites and pathogens in the blood and feces of reptiles sold in the markets of Marrakech in order to assess the risk of zoonotic transmission. The results showed that 28.9% of reptiles carried at least one pathogen, including Anaplasma and Rickettsia. In addition, some potentially zoonotic bacteria, such as Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were found. The study highlights the potential role of reptiles in the transmission of pathogens to humans in the markets of Marrakech.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ilaria Varotto-Boccazzi, Sara Epis, Giulia Maria Cattaneo, Noemi Guerrini, Alessandro Manenti, Diego Rubolini, Paolo Gabrieli, Domenico Otranto, Gianvincenzo Zuccotti, Emanuele Montomoli, Claudio Bandi
Summary: The mucosal immune system is crucial for combatting infections and can serve as the first line of defense against various pathogens. Mucosal vaccination has shown promise in protecting against infections acquired through ingestion, inhalation, or the urogenital system, and can also induce systemic immune responses. This study investigated rectal administration of Leishmania parasites as a potential method for generating anti-Leishmania immunity, demonstrating a specific antibody response and a shift towards a Th1-biased immune response. These findings suggest the development of novel vaccines based on rectal immunization against Leishmania parasites should be further explored.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2023)
