Abstract
Strongyloides spp. are common parasites of vertebrates and two species, S. ratti and S. venezuelensis, parasitize rats; there are no known species that naturally infect mice. Strongyloides ratti and S. venezuelensis
overlap in their geographical range and in these regions co-infections
appear to be common. These species have been widely used as tractable
laboratory systems in rats as well as mice. The core biology of these
two species is similar, but there are clear differences in aspects of
their within-host biology as well as in their free-living generation.
Phylogenetic evidence suggests that S. ratti and S. venezuelensis
are the result of two independent evolutionary transitions to
parasitism of rats, which therefore presents an ideal opportunity to
begin to investigate the basis of host specificity in Strongyloides spp.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 285-294 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Parasitology |
Volume | 144 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 3 Mar 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Strongyloides
- rats
- rodent