Distribution of large lungworms (Nematoda: Dictyocaulidae) in free-roaming populations of red deer Cervus elaphus (L.) with the description of Dictyocaulus skrjabini n. sp.
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), Warsaw, Poland
Zdzisław Laskowski
Polish Academy of Sciences, W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Warsaw, Poland
Daniel Klich
Department of Animal Genetics and Conservation, Institute of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), Warsaw, Poland
Aleksander Wiaczesław Demiaszkiewicz
Polish Academy of Sciences, W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Warsaw, Poland
Stanisław Kaczor
County Veterinary Inspectorate in Sanok, Sanok, Poland
Dorota Merta
Institute of Biology and Earth Sciences, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Kraków, Poland
Janusz Kobielski
Forest Inspectorate in Pieńsk, Pieńsk, Poland
Julita Nowakowska
Institute of Biology, University of Warsaw, Imaging Laboratory, Warsaw, Poland
Krzysztof Anusz
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), Warsaw, Poland
Johan Höglund
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health (BVF), Division of Parasitology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
Lungworms of the genus Dictyocaulus are causative agents of parasitic bronchitis in domestic and wild ungulates. This study investigates the distribution, morphology and genetic diversity of D. cervi and a new lungworm species, Dictyocaulus skrjabini n. sp. infecting red deer Cervus elaphus, fallow deer Dama dama and moose Alces alces in Poland and Sweden. The study was conducted on 167 red deer from Poland and on the DNA of lungworms derived from 7 fallow deer, 4 red deer and 2 moose collected in Sweden. The prevalence of D. cervi and D. skrjabini n. sp. in dissected red deer in Poland was 31.1% and 7.2%, respectively. Moreover, D. skrjabini n. sp. was confirmed molecularly in 7 isolates of fallow deer lungworms and 1 isolate of red deer lungworms from Sweden. Dictyocaulus skrjabini n. sp. was established based on combination of their distinct molecular and morphological features; these included the length of cephalic vesicle, buccal capsule (BC), buccal capsule wall (BCW), distance from anterior extremity to the nerve ring, the width of head, oesophagus, cephalic vesicle, BC and BCW, as well as the dimensions of reproductive organs of male and female. Additionally, molecular analyses revealed 0.9% nucleotide sequence divergence for 1,605 bp SSU rDNA, and 16.5–17.3% nucleotide sequence divergence for 642 bp mitochondrial cytB between D. skrjabini n. sp. and D. cervi, respectively, and 18.7–19% between D. skrjabini n. sp. and D. eckerti, which translates into 18.2–18.7% amino acid sequence divergence between D. skrjabini n. sp. and both lungworms.
