Predisposition to trichuriasis in mice is reflected in the inability of certain strains, or certain individuals within strains, to express protective immunity. Poor responders fail to expel worms and harbour chronic patent infections. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon were studied in poor responder mice challenged after abbreviated or prolonged primary infections. Mice exposed to a complete primary infection were fully susceptible when challenged after the removal of the primary infection by anthelmintic. Failure to expel either infection suggests (a) that non-responsiveness to a primary infection does not reflect an inability to expel worms of a certain size, i.e. is not a consequence of the speed of the immune response in relation to parasite growth and (b) that non-responsiveness is long-lasting. Challenge after abbreviation of primary infections at different stages of worm development showed that persistence of larvae beyond day 21 was critical in determining poor response to reinfection. By inference the same conclusion can be drawn about the inability of such mice to expel primary infections. Serological analysis suggested a relationship between low antibody titres, restricted antigen recognition profiles and resistance to infection. It is suggested that the later stages of parasite development are immunosuppressive; the implications for human trichuriasis are discussed.

A dataset of bacterial diversity found in mites was compiled from 193 publications (from 1964 to January 2015). A total of 143 mite species belonging to the 3 orders (Mesostigmata, Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes) were recorded and found to be associated with approximately 150 bacteria species (in 85 genera, 51 families, 25 orders and 7 phyla). From the literature, the intracellular symbiont Cardinium, the scrub typhus agent Orientia, and Wolbachia (the most prevalent symbiont of arthropods) were the dominant mite-associated bacteria, with approximately 30 mite species infected each. Moreover, a number of bacteria of medical and veterinary importance were also reported from mites, including species from the genera Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Bartonella, Francisella, Coxiella, Borrelia, Salmonella, Erysipelothrix and Serratia. Significant differences in bacterial infection patterns among mite taxa were identified. These data will not only be useful for raising awareness of the potential for mites to transmit disease, but also enable a deeper understanding of the relationship of symbionts with their arthropod hosts, and may facilitate the development of intervention tools for disease vector control. This review provides a comprehensive overview of mite-associated bacteria and is a valuable reference database for future research on mites of agricultural, veterinary and/or medical importance.

1. Strains of P. berghei resistant to sulphadiazine, pyrimethamine, and methylene blue were produced by treating acute infections with low doses of drug.

2. The strain resistant to methylene blue was sensitive to pamaquin, mepacrine, sulphadiazine, proguanil, pyrimethamine, and 2 : 4-diamino-6 : 7-camphano-pteridine.

3. The pyrimethamine-resistant strain was cross-resistant to proguanil and its active metabolite CPT, 2 : 4-diamino-6 : 7-camphanopteridine, 2 : 4-diamino-6 : 7-(l′-ethylindolo)-pteridine, and 2 : 4-diamino-5-p-chlorophenylpyrimidine.

4. The sulphadiazine-resistant strain was cross-resistant to pyrimethamine, sulphanilamide, proguanil and its active metabolite CPT, 2 : 4-diamino-6 : 7-dinhexylpteridine, and 2 : 4-diamino-6 : 7-diisopropylpteridine. It was as sensitive as the parent strain to quinine, mepacrine, chloroquin, pamaquin, methylene blue, and M 3349.

5. The action of sulphadiazine against the sulphadiazine-resistant strain was inhibited by the same doses of p-aminobenzoic acid and folic acid as were required with the parent strain, although the dose of sulphadiazine was increased 30-fold.

In view of the recent discovery (Molecular Cell6, 861–871) of a (Lys76Thr) codon change in gene pfcrt on chromosome 7 which determines in vitro chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, we have re-examined samples taken before treatment in our study in Zaria, Northern Nigeria (Parasitology119, 343–348). Drug resistance was present in 5/5 cases where the pfcrt 76Thr codon change was seen (100% positive predictive value). Drug sensitivity was found in 26/28 cases where the change was absent (93% negative predictive value). Allele pfcrt 76Thr showed strong linkage disequilibrium with pfmdr1 Tyr86 on chromosome 5, more complete than that between pfcrt and cg2 alleles situated between recombination cross-over points on chromosome 7. Physical linkage of cg2 with pfcrt may account for linkage disequilibrium between their alleles but in the case of genes pfmdr1 and pfcrt, on different chromosomes, it is likely that this is maintained epistatically through the selective pressure of chloroquine.

Chagas disease is caused by infection with the insect-transmitted protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and is the most important parasitic infection in Latin America. The current drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, are characterized by limited efficacy and toxic side-effects, and treatment failures are frequently observed. The urgent need for new therapeutic approaches is being met by a combined effort from the academic and commercial sectors, together with major input from not-for-profit drug development consortia. With the disappointing outcomes of recent clinical trials against chronic Chagas disease, it has become clear that an incomplete understanding of parasite biology and disease pathogenesis is impacting negatively on the development of more effective drugs. In addition, technical issues, including difficulties in establishing parasitological cure in both human patients and animal models, have greatly complicated the assessment of drug efficacy. Here, we outline the major questions that need to be addressed and discuss technical innovations that can be exploited to accelerate the drug development pipeline.

Ascaris suum contains a large number of FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) of which KNEFIRFamide (AF1), KHEYLRFamide (AF2) and KSAYMRFamide (AF8, also called PF3) have been extensively studied and are known to exert actions on somatic muscle strips of the worm. In the present study, the effects of AF1, AF2 and AF8 on the activity of the vagina vera of female A. suum have been examined in vitro. The vagina vera is a muscular tube connecting the uterus and vagina uteri to the gonopore and is probably involved in regulating egg output. The tissue exhibited spontaneous, rhythmic contractions in vitro, which were modulated by each of the FaRPs tested. The effects of each of the peptides were qualitatively and quantitatively different, and in each case were reversible. AF1 (1 μM) caused a biphasic response in the form of a transient lengthening of the preparation, followed by a shortening; contractions were initially inhibited but resumed 5 min post-addition of the peptide. Lower concentrations ([les ]0·1 μM) induced a less marked effect, with rhythmic contractions returning 5 min post-addition. AF2 and AF8 reduced contraction frequency at concentrations [ges ]0·1 μM. Both peptides also caused the tissue to shorten, although the effects of AF8 on baseline tension were inconsistent. The apparent potencies of AF1 and AF8 on contraction frequency of the vagina vera were 10-fold greater than AF2 and, unlike their actions on A. suum somatic body wall muscles, the actions of AF1 and AF2 were qualitatively different. Indeed, the effects of each of these FaRPs on the vagina vera were markedly different from those observed on the somatic muscle.

A study carried out on a sheep farm examined whether Toxoplasma gondii foetal infection and associated abortion occur in successive lambings. We identified 29 ewes that gave birth to lambs on at least 2 successive years over our study period, 2000–2003. Tissue samples from the progeny of these ewes were analysed by PCR to determine infection status with T. gondii. T. gondii-infected lambs were born in 31% of successive pregnancies. T. gondii-positive lambs were aborted in successive pregnancies in 21% of lambings during study period, 2000–2003. The frequency of successive abortions within this flock over the period 1992–2003 was 18%. If a lamb was congenitally infected there was a high risk (69%) that the successive lamb from that ewe would also be congenitally infected. Similarly, if a lamb was aborted there was a high risk (55%) of abortion in the next lamb produced. These data suggest that life-long immunity to T. gondii infections may not always be acquired following an initial infection and raises the question as to whether the mechanisms of T. gondii transmission prior to and during ovine pregnancies are fully understood.

Schistosomes, which live as parasitic adults in the blood vessels of mammals, birds and crocodiles, are unique among trematodes because they have separate sexes. Several studies have shown that the sex ratio is often biased towards males. Sexual dimorphism can be very important in several genera (Schistosoma, Heterobilharzia, Schistosomatium), as larger males grip smaller females in a gynecophoric canal. But not all schistomatid species have developed a gynecophoric canal. It is also striking that the number of testes varies widely, from a small number of testes reported (2–7) to a very high number (>500). We tested the hypothesis of trade-off investment by males: muscle (as estimated by the length of the gynecophoric canal) in order to sequester one or a few females, or testes in order to inseminate numerous females. We used recent comparative methods, which need phylogenetic information of the analysed species. We employed a morphological cladistic analysis of the Schistosomatidae and a construction of a phylogenetic supertree of Schistosoma based on available molecular information. Our phylogenetic analysis supports previous hypotheses on the origin and diversification of the schistosomes. The family seems to have originated as parasites of crocodiles (or possibly other related poikilotherms) and to have secondarily evolved within the Aves and then mammals. Our phylogenetic analyses show that (1) the possession of a gynecophoric canal is a plesiomorphic character, and several reductions of this character have occurred during the diversification of the Schistosomatidae; (2) a small number of testes is a plesiomorphic stage, and an increase of testes number has occurred several times. Finally, our comparative analysis suggests that there is a trade-off between investment in muscle or in number of testes (other variables being controlled for). Male competition for access to females seems to follow two ways: investment in testes in order to fertilize a high number of females or investment in muscle in order to hold and sequester one (Schistosoma) or a few females (Heterobilharzia). We show the existence of the trade-off between muscles and testes in connection with a male biased sex ratio. The development of dioecy cannot explain the trade-off between muscles and testes, which instead appears to be a result of sexual selection possibly driven by the male biased sex ratio.

We sequenced the rRNA genes and internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of several Theileria parva isolates in an attempt to distinguish between the causative agents of East coast fever and Corridor disease. The small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) rRNA genes from a cloned T. p. lawrencei parasite were sequenced; the former was identical to that of T. p. parva Muguga, and there were minor heterogeneities in the latter. The 5·8S gene sequences of 11 T. parva isolates were identical, but major differences were found in the ITS. Six characterization oligonucleotides were designed to hybridize within the variable ITS1 region; 93·5% of T. p. parva isolates examined were detected by probe TPP1 and 81·8% of T. p. lawrencei isolates were detected by TPL2 and/or TPL3a. There was no absolute distinction between T. p. parva and T. p. lawrencei and the former hybridized with fewer of the probes than did the latter. It therefore seems that a relatively homogenous subpopulation of T. parva has been selected in cattle from a more diverse gene pool in buffalo. The ITSs of both T. p. parva and T. p. lawrencei contained different combinations of identifiable sequence segments, resulting in a mosaic of segments in any one isolate, suggesting that the two populations undergo genetic recombination and that their gene pools are not completely separate.

The cyst wall of Parorchis acanthus Nicoll, consists of an outer wall of three layers and an inner wall of two layers. The outer wall is hemispherical, complete, attached to the substratum and extends as a flange around the margin. The composition of its three layers differ dorsally and ventrally. Dorsally the layers are: (1) acid mucopolysaccharide and neutral mucopolysaccharide, (2) protein and lipoprotein, (3) acid mucopolysaccharide, neutral mucopolysaccharide and glyco-protein. Ventrally the layers are: (1) acid mucopolysaccharide, protein and lipoprotein, (2) acid mucopolysaccharide. The middle layer in both is secreted by the ventral granular cystogenous glands and the outer and inner layers, dorsally and ventrally, by the dorsal and ventral agranular cystogenous glands respectively.

The inner cyst wall is oval in surface view. It consists of two layers, both of neutral mucopolysaccharide, the outer giving a more pronounced reaction. Both are secreted by the dorsal granular cystogenous glands. The ventral wall is strengthened by a secretion from the plug-forming gland cells and consists of neutral mucopolysaccharide. All the layers of the cyst wall show the same histochemical reactions as the glands which secrete them.

Studies on the fine structure of the cercaria have revealed mammalian-type synapses in the neuropile of the central nervous system, rind cells around the ganglia, an elaborate arrangement of muscles in the wall of the oral sucker, the flame cell structure and the structure of the granules contributing to the formation of the cyst wall.

The DNA content of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes during intra-erythrocytic development and during gametogenesis was established by cytophotometric methods. Intra-erythrocytic micro- and macrogametocytes (Stage I-Stage VB) contain about twice the amount of DNA of haploid sporozoites and ringstages, indicating that DNA is synthesized during transformation of ringforms into Stage I gametocytes. Microgametocytes, after activation at pH 8, rapidly duplicate their genome several times, while the DNA content of macrogametocytes remains constant during gametogenesis.

The high energy costs of egg-shell production in many helminths suggests that this structure plays an important role in their biology. The mechanical and chemical resistance of the egg-shell and the barrier it provides to the entry and loss of material are important in the survival of the free-living stages within the egg. The presence of egg filaments may increase the availability of infective stages and the operculum may be important in the infective process.

1. T. raiae and Bodo caudatus are investigated using Feulgen's nucleal reaction in addition to the usual nuclear stains. The nature and value of this method is discussed.

2. In T. raiae the parabasal body or kinetonucleus is found to consist of chromatin as shown by the nucleal reaction. An achromatic element in its composition is suggested in the division by the desmose between the two halves being achromatic.

The blepharoplast is an achromatic structure. It seems probable that it persists in the aflagellar phase of the trypanosome. In T. raiae the division of the blepharoplast precedes but does not apparently orientate the division of the parabasal body. The division of the parabasal body does not present a mitotic figure.

3. The nucleus in T. raiae consists of an achromatic karyosome body with some chromatin surrounding it, there is also chromatin arranged upon the inner surface of the nuclear membrane.

4. At division the karyosome apparently draws out into an achromatic spindle figure, the chromatin collects in the prophase into a loose granular mass and then becomes arranged at the equator. The mass divides into two portions; it is not possible to distinguish chromosomes with sufficient certainty. The nuclei are finally reconstructed from the achromatic ends of the spindle and the chromatin which has travelled to either pole.

5. In Bodo caudatus the parabasal body (kinetonucleus) is composed of chromatin and of an achromatic substance, the blepharoplasts or basal granules are achromatic bodies which play an orientating part in the division of the parabasal body: this division does not show an equatorial plate stage. The nucleus is made up of an achromatic nucleolus-karyosome surrounded by a hollow sphere of chromatin; there is a very definite division process which takes place apparently within the nuclear space. There is no equatorial plate formed and the achromatic figure which is derived directly from the karyosome is a division column which inserts itself into the already dividing chromatin and is not of the spindle fibre type found in the mitosis of the metazoan cell and of many protozoa.

Of the 39 most common helminth parasites of man listed by Peters & Gilles (1977), 30 may be detected and often diagnosed by finding their eggs or larvae in the faeces of infected people. The preferred habitat of many of these helminths is the alimentary tract itself and the continual flow of material through the food tube provides a simple, passive and reliable means of transport and eventual exit from the host for the reproductive stages of a worm. Helminth eggs are generally less than 150 μm in diameter and although individually comprise a small material investment by the adult worm in the propagation of the species, the chances of infecting a host are so slim (though this may be a teleological inference) that adult worms are often highly fecund: a female Ascaris lumbricoides is estimated to release daily into the intestine approximately 200,000 eggs (WHO, 1967). Yet numbers should not always be equated with great substance or bulk – an equally important determinant of the chances of finding an egg in faeces: assuming a spherical diameter of 60 μm and a specific gravity of 1·2 (Sawitz, 1942) then a female Ascaris is estimated to produce only about 25 mg of eggs each day, which is 0·01% of a moderate daily output of 250 g of faeces.

1. The anatomy of the male and female genitalia of Parorchis acanthus is described in detail. An extensive receptaculum uterinum occurs in the female system.

2. The chromosome number in P. acanthus is twenty-two.

3. Spermatogenesis, oogenesis, and fertilization, are described in the adult worm. The chromosome number in both male and female cells is reduced to eleven at the first meiotic division.

4. Maturation in the female takes place in the “receptaculum uterinum”.

5. Cleavage of the ovum to the three cell stage has been followed.

6. The probable synonymy of P. acanthus and P. avitus is discussed.

The trematode and cestode flatworms include numerous parasitic forms of major medical and economic importance. A better knowledge of the neuromuscular physiology of these animals could lead to development of new control measures against these parasites. Since these animals are near the stem from which all other animals have evolved, better knowledge of these animals could also yield valuable information about the early evolution of nerve and muscle systems in the animal kingdom. This review focuses on what is known about the characteristics of the somatic muscle in these animals. The anatomy of the muscles is described along with a review of current information about their electrophysiology, including descriptions of the ion channels present. Also included is a summary of recently acquired data concerning the nature of serotonin, peptide, acetylcholine and glutamate receptors on the membranes of the muscles.

A FMRFamide-like peptide has been detected in the nematode Ascaris suum, using the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) immunocytochemical technique. Positive reactions were obtained in both the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system of the worm, the strongest reactions being in the anterior nerve ring, the cephalic papillary ganglia, the lateral ganglia and the dorso-rectal ganglion. Immunoreactivity was observed along the length of the main nerve cords of the worm and, to a lesser extent, in the pharyngeal nerve cords. The possible role of this neuropeptide in the physiology of the nematode is discussed.

A method of interrupting the life-cycle of the human blood fluke Schistosoma by increasing the proportion of genetically insusceptible intermediate host snails in natural populations was first proposed nearly 25 years ago. The method assumes that insusceptible snails will be at a selective advantage over susceptible snails when the schistosome parasite is present, and therefore natural selection will act to increase the proportion of alleles for insusceptibility. A major objection to the proposed technique is ‘If insusceptible snails are at a selective advantage, then why are they not predominant in natural populations that transmit disease?’ One explanation of this paradox is that insusceptibility may be associated with a disadvantageous character or a physiological defect. This study tests this hypothesis by measuring the relative reproductive success of susceptible and insusceptible snails under controlled conditions. Results indicate that insusceptible (unsuitable) snails are negatively affected in the presence of either susceptible snails or schistosome parasites. Furthermore, in the presence of both susceptible snails and schistosome parasites, insusceptible snails are selectively disadvantaged compared to susceptible snails. These results obtained under laboratory-controlled conditions suggest a plausible answer as to why insusceptible snails are not predominant in natural populations that transmit disease.

Enzyme electrophoresis was used to examine genetic variation within and between populations of Echinococcus granulosus from domestic and sylvatic hosts in western and eastern Australia. Substantial genetic diversity was found within all populations. There was no evidence, however, of genetic differentiation between populations from different hosts or geographic areas. When isolates were grouped into previously described domestic or sylvatic strains on the basis of rostellar hook morphology, most (94%) of the genetic variation occurred within, rather than between strains. These results conflict with the currently accepted theory of separate domestic and sylvatic strains of E. granulosus on the mainland of Australia.