Arctic charr are susceptible to cestodes like Diphyllobothrium dendriticum which are transmitted through the food web. Field studies investigating Arctic charr-Diphyllobothrium relationships often provide little data from which to fully understand Diphyllobothrium transmission or to assess their impact on copepod or fish hosts. Experimental studies may, therefore, be the only direct way to investigate these issues. The research goal of this thesis was to duplicate the D. dendriticum life cycle in the laboratory to investigate parasite development and host specificity, and to apply the experimental data to natural situations. Results indicated that at 10°C, D. dendriticum eggs develop slowly and 65 days are required for complete embryonation. In many Canadian Arctic lakes water temperatures rarely exceed 4°C, and this study has shown that at this temperature embryonation requires several months, necessitating more than one ice-free season for life cycle completion. The results also showed that embryos developed more rapidly and significantly more eggs hatched when incubated with light or aeration, results that were consistent for D. dendriticum originating from Canada and Norway. To continue the life cycle, coracidia must be consumed by suitable copepod hosts. This study showed that although D. dendriticum will infect the European copepods Cyclops scutifer and Eudiaptomus graciloides, prevalence was higher and procercoids developed more rapidly in E. graciloides. These results showed that E. graciloides is a better host for D. dendriticum than is C. scutifer, contradicting published literature. In North America, E. graciloides is not found in lakes containing D. dendriticum and no North American calanoid species have been tested to determine their host suitability to this cestode. This study identified two North American species, Diaptomus minutus and D. leptopus, which are suitable laboratory hosts. D. minutus is almost certainly a natural host for D. den

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The Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is a top predator in northern lakes and accumulates persistent lipophilic contaminants. Toxaphene, a major organochlorine contaminant in Arctic charr, is known to be acutely toxic to fish but the effects of dietary exposure have not been examined. Furthermore, lake-resident Arctic charr are frequently infected with larvae of the cestode, Diphyllobothrium dendriticum. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of toxaphene exposure on Arctic charr growth, nutritional quality, physiology, and susceptibility to infections of D. dendriticum. A preliminary experiment found no effect of toxaphene on charr visceral organ and fat weights, plasma Vitamin A and E and plasma cortisol, although dominance hierarchies within groups may have masked treatment effects. For the main experiment, hatchery-reared Arctic charr were subjected to one of four treatments: (i) a single oral dose of corn oil (control); (ii) a single oral dose of 10 mug/g wet weight toxaphene dissolved in corn oil; (iii) exposure to 15 larval D. dendriticum; and (iv) a combination of both. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autor / Identifica larvas plerocercoides de Diphyllobothrium sp. de peces marinos de la costa peruana de mayor consumo humano mediante técnicas moleculares, utilizando los marcadores moleculares ITS y 18S rDNA. Para ello se muestrean 831 ejemplares de Sciaena deliciosa “Lorna”, 5 de Sarda chilensis “Bonito”, 201 de Scomber japonicus “Caballa”, 40 de Galeichthys jordani “bagre marino“, 34 de Trachurus murphyi “jurel”, 18 de Merluccius gayi “merluza”,5 de Coryphaena hippurus “perico” y 2193 de Engraulis ringens “anchoveta”; adquiridos en diferentes periodos estacionales y diferentes puertos de las ciudades de Chiclayo, Lima, Ica y Moquegua de la costa peruana. Se extrae el ADN genómico de 36 larvas plerocercoides colectadas y se evalúa la calidad del mismo mediante electroforesis y espectrofotometría. Se amplifica los fragmentos ITS, 18S rDNA y COI (control interno) de las larvas plerocercoides mediante PCR y se analizan filogenéticamente utilizando los métodos de Neighbor-Joining (NJ) y Máxima Parsimonia (MP). Los resultados muestran que al analizar morfológicamente las larvas plerocercoides, se observan tres formas diferentes de escólex: lanceolada, acorazonada y redondeada, según Mondragón (2017). En el análisis filogenético se observa que para cada uno de los marcadores moleculares utilizados, las secuencias de las larvas plerocercoides son agrupadas en un solo clado, junto con las secuencias obtenidas de la base de datos de NCBI de A. pacificus y D. pacificum, manteniendo una distancia marcada con las otras especies de Diphyllobothrium reportadas como zoonóticas. En conclusión, los datos demuestran que, a nivel de morfología de escólex, las larvas plerocercoides presentan alta plasticidad; por ende, esta no es una característica útil ni válida para la identificación a nivel de especie. De acuerdo a los análisis filogenéticos basados en el gen 18S rDNA y ITS, se determina que las larvas plerocercoides se agrupan en un mismo clado con A. pacificus y probablemente se trate de una sola especie la que esté presente en la zona costera del Perú. / Tesis

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The order Diphyllobothriidea is a unique group of tapeworms in terms of the wide spectrum of definitive hosts involving all groups of tetrapods including man. They are almost globally distributed in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, but there are also terrestrial species. It is very difficult to identify species of diphyllobothriid cestodes to the species level. Morphology of the eggs might represent a new method in the differential diagnosis of these parasites. Besides the size and shape of the eggs, the structure of egg surface might play a significant role in the determination of different taxa. For the analysis of these characteristics Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used. Experimental infections in hamsters and man were done.