To determine geographical patterns of natural parasite infections among wild rodents, a total of 46 wild rodents from 3 different localities in northern Gangwon-do (Province), Korea were examined for intestinal parasite infections. Along with nematodes such as hookworms and Syphacia spp., Plagiorchis muris (2 specimens) (Trematoda) were collected from striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius. In a...

Parasites, which are considered a subclass of predators, are important controllers of host species density (Primack & Rodrigues, 2001). In Brazil, although data on parasites of domestic mammals are quite common (Nichol et al., 1981; Farias et al., 1995; Pimentel Neto & Fonseca, 2002; Serra et al., 2003), studies about helminth parasites preying on arboreal rodents are rare due to the general la...

Elucidation of a Carotenoid Biosynthesis Gene Cluster Encoding a Novel Enzyme, 2,2 -Hydroxylase, from Brevundimonas sp. Strain SD212 and Combinatorial Biosynthesis of New or Rare Xanthophylls Yasuhiro Nishida, Kyoko Adachi, Hiroaki Kasai, Yoshikazu Shizuri, Kazutoshi Shindo, Akiyoshi Sawabe, Sadao Komemushi, Wataru Miki, and Norihiko Misawa* School of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nakamachi, N...

SUMMARY Gastrointestinal helminths of Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) from the Belgrade area were studied as a part of a wider ecological research of rats in Serbia (data on the distribution, population ecology, economic and epizoothiological-epidemiological importance, and density control). Rats were captured from May 2005 to July 2009 at both urban and suburban-rural sites. Of a total of 302 t...

Cestodiases are common parasitic diseases of animals and humans. As cestodes have complex lifecycles, hexacanth larvae, metacestodes (including cysticercoids), and adults produce proteins allowing them to establish invasion and to survive in the hostile environment of the host. Hymenolepis diminuta is the most commonly used model cestode in experimental parasitology. The aims of the present stu...

Analysis of parasite-host interactions can reveal the intricacies of immunity and identify ways to modulate immunopathological reactions. We assessed the ability of a phosphate-buffered saline-soluble extract of adult Hymenolepis diminuta to suppress macrophage (human THP-1 cell line, murine peritoneal macrophages) activity in vitro and the impact of treating mice with this extract on colitis i...