White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) as the definitive host of Sarcocystis lutrae in the Czech Republic

Abstract

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The white-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla, has been involved in the life cycle of several Sarcocystis species as the intermediate and definitive host. To date, it has been supposed that the eagle might play the role as the definitive host for S. Lutrae, and, herein, we tried to elucidate it based on morphometric and molecular analyses. One out of two eagles harbored oocysts (17.0−17.4 × 11.3–11.9 μm) and sporocysts (11.3–12.3 × 8.3–9.3 μm) in the intestinal mucosa, whose sequences at 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS1, and cox1 showed similar identity (97.64–100%) to published sequences of S. lutrae from other hosts. The presence of sporulated oocysts in the lamina propria of villi confirms that S. lutrae truly infects the white-tailed eagle. The white-tailed eagle is confirmed as the definitive host of S. lutrae in the Czech Republic.

Keywords

• birds of prey
• carnivores
• wildlife
• genetic characterization
• protozoan
• oocysts and sporocysts