Intermittent egg release by Aspiculuris tetraptera in mice

Extract

In order to study egg release by Aspiculuris tetraptera total faecal collections from infected mice were made every 1½ h throughout successive 24 h periods. This was done with the aid of a histokinette machine. The cage containing the mice was suspended from one of the arms of the machine and every 1½ h the cage was moved on by the machine to the next adjacent collecting dish. The faecal pellets passed were counted and then used for flotation egg counts.

It was found that eggs were not released steadily and continuously and, in the case of the worms in an isolated mouse, egg output was clearly intermittent. Egg production did not appear to vary with the faecal production of the host in a consistent way but with two groups of 8 mice it was highest when faecal production was at its peak shortly before dawn. For the groups of 8 mice the concentration of eggs per faecal pellet was also highest at this time. In two experiments with an individual mouse, however, the egg counts fell to zero at dawn before the level of faecal production became reduced.

It is suggested therefore that egg output by female A. tetraptera may be stimulated by the altered physiological state of the host associated with feeding or general activity.