Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T00:30:21.132Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Villus length influences habitat selection by Heligmosomoides polygyrus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

A. D. Bansemir  and
M. V. K. Sukhdeo
A. D. Bansemir
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA
M. V. K. Sukhdeo*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA
*
* Corresponding author. Department of Animal Sciences, Bartlett Hall, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. Tel: 908 932 9406. Fax: 908 932 6996. E-mail [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Heligmosomoides polygyrus is a gastrointestinal nematode whose adult distribution is restricted to the duodenal region in the small intestine of the mouse. This study tests the hypothesis that the habitat of these parasitic worms is influenced by fixed (architectural) cues in the small intestine of the vertebrate host, and that H. polygyrus adults will select microhabitats containing the longest villi. H. polygyrus adults attach by coiling around the villi, and longer villi may provide greater attachment resources. In addition, these parasites feed on the epithelial cells covering the villi and thus longer villi may also provide more food resources. Using histological methods, this study identified a gradient of villus length in the small intestine of the mouse where the longest villi were found in the duodenum and shortest in the ileum Several non-surgical and surgical treatments were used to differentially alter the overall lengths of the villi. These treatments produced a significant negative correlation between villus length and worm distribution, with the worms selecting regions with the relatively longest villi in the small intestine. Attachment and feeding sites are crucial resources for this parasite, and these data suggest that villus length may be a reliable indicator of resource quality, and that decisions on habitat suitability by H. polygyrus adults may depend on this single, topological variable.

Keywords

Heligmosomoides polygyrusparasite ecologyhabitat selectionattachment behaviour
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 113 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 311 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bansemir, A. D. & Sukhdeo, M. V. K. (1994). The food resource of adult Heligmosomoides polygyrus in the small intestine. Journal of Parasitology 80, 24–28.Google Scholar
Dawden, R. J. (1969). Some effects of the diet of mice on Nematospiroides dubius (Nematoda). Parasitology 59, 203–213.Google Scholar
Brooks, F. P. (1970). Control of Gastrointestinal function. The Macmillan Company, New York.Google Scholar
Castro, G. A., Badial-Aceves, G., Adams, P., Copeland, E. M. & Dudrick, S. (1976). Response to immunized, parenterally nourished rats to challenge infection with the nematode Trichinella spiralis. Journal of Nutrition 106, 1484–1491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Croll, N. A. (1976). The location of parasites within their hosts: the influence of host feeding and diet on the dispersion of adults of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in the intestine of the rat. International Journal for Parasitology 6, 441–448.Google Scholar
Crompton, D. W. T. (1973). The sites occupied by some parasitic helminths in the alimentary tract of vertebrates. Biological Review 48, 27–83.Google Scholar
Dobson, C. (1961). Certain aspects of the host-parasite relationship of Nematospiroides dubius (Baylis). I. Resistance of male and female mice to experimental infections. Parasitology 51, 173–179.Google Scholar
Forrester, D. J. (1971). Heligmosomoides polygyrus ( = Nematospiroides dubius) from wild rodents of northern California: Natural infections, host specificity, and strain characteristics. Journal of Parasitology 57, 498–503.Google Scholar
Fraenkel, G. S. & Gunn, D. L. (1961). The Orientation of Animals: Kineses, Taxes and Compass Reactions. Dover Publications Inc., New York.Google Scholar
Kleinschuster, S. J., Hepler, D. I. & Voth, D. R. (1978). Attachment of Nematospiroides dubius in the murine intestine. Veterinary Science Communications 2, 237–241.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. W. & Bryant, V. (1976). The distribution of Nematospiroides dubius within the small intestine of laboratory mice. Journal of Helminthology 50, 163–171.Google Scholar
Mackenzie, K. & Gibson, D. (1970). Ecological studies of some parasites of plaice, Pleuronectes platessa (L.) and flounder, Platichthys flesus (L.). In Aspects of Fish Parasitology (ed. Taylor, A. E. R. & Mueller, R.), pp. 1–42. Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford.Google Scholar
Makidono, J. (1956). Observations on Ascaris during fluoroscopy. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 5, 699–702.Google Scholar
McVicar, A. H. (1972). The ultrastructure of the hostparasite interface of three tetraphyllidean tapeworms of the elasmobranch Raja naevus. Parasitology 65, 77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mettrick, D. F. & Podesta, R. B. (1974). Ecological and physiological aspects of helminth-host interactions in the mammalian gastrointestinal canal. In Advances in Parasitology, vol 12 (ed. Dawes, B.), pp. 183–278. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Panter, H. C. (1969). Host-parasite relationships of Nematospiroides dubius in the mouse. Journal of Parasitology 55, 33–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Partridge, L. (1978). Habitat selection. In Behavioral Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach (ed. Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N. B.), pp. 351–376. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. (1990). Habitat selection by helminths: a hypothesis. Parasitology Today 6, 234–237.Google Scholar
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. & Croll, N. A. (1981). The location of parasites within their hosts: bile and the site selection behaviour of Nematospiroides dubius. International Journal for Parasitology 11, 157–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. & Mettrick, D. F. (1983). Site selection by Heligmosomoides polygyrtts: effect of surgical alterations of the gastrointestinal tract. International Journal for Parasitology 13, 355–358.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. & Mettrick, D. F. (1984). Migrational responses of Hymenolepis diminuta to surgical alterations of gastrointestinal secretions. Parasitology 88, 421–430.Google Scholar
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. & Mettrick, D. F. (1987). Parasite behavior: understanding platyhelminth responses. In Advances in Parasitology, vol 26 (ed. Baker, J. R. & Muller, R.), pp. 73–144. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Sukhdeo, M. V. K. & Sukhdeo, S. C. (1994). Optimal habitat selection by helminths within the host environment. Parasitology 109 (Suppl.), S41–S55.Google Scholar
Taylor, A. E. R. & Baker, J. R. (1987). In Vitro Methods for Parasite Cultivation. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Tindergen, N. (1950). The Herring Gull's World. Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.Google Scholar
Todd, A. C. & Crowdus, D. H. (1952). On the life history of Ascardia galli. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 71, 282–287.Google Scholar
Ulmer, M. (1971). Site finding behavior in helminths in intermediate and definitive hosts. In Ecology and Physiology of Parasites (ed. Fallis, A. M.), pp. 123–160. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.Google Scholar
Walker, E. P. (1975). Mammals of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.Google Scholar