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The Occurrence and Ape‐to‐Ape Transmission of the Entodiniomorphid Ciliate Troglodytella abrassarti in Captive Gorillas
Author(s) -
MODRÝ DAVID,
PETRŽELKOVÁ KLÁRA J.,
POMAJBÍKOVÁ KATEŘINA,
TOKIWA TOSHIHIRO,
KŘÍŽEK JAROSLAV,
IMAI SOICHI,
VALLO PETER,
PROFOUSOVÁ ILONA,
ŠLAPETA JAN
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2008.00369.x
Subject(s) - gorilla , biology , zoology , transmission (telecommunications) , internal transcribed spacer , ribosomal rna , genetics , gene , paleontology , electrical engineering , engineering
. Entodiniomorphid ciliates are often present in the colons of wild apes. In captive apes the infection tends to gradually disappear, with the exception of Troglodytella abrassarti . We used fecal examinations to screen the gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) in European (Czech Republic, UK) and Australian Zoos to explore the ape‐to‐ape transmission pattern of T. abrassarti . Gorillas from two out of three European Zoos were positive for T. abrassarti , while gorillas from the Australian Zoo were negative. We documented a horizontal transmission of T. abrassarti to a non‐infected adult gorilla introduced into a Troglodytella ‐positive group in the Prague Zoo and traced the origin of the ciliate infection to the Paignton Zoo (UK) using serial fecal examinations. During this study, two infant gorillas born in the Prague Zoo (CZ) first became positive for T. abrassarti at the age of 9 mo. Ciliate morphology and the sequencing of the small subunit rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer rDNA spacer region revealed that T. abrassarti affects both captive gorillas and chimpanzees. We conclude that zoo transport plays a major role in the distribution of T. abrassarti among captive gorillas.