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Vet Parasitol 2022 May 7:109715. Epub 2022 May 7.

The University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, Centre for Animal Science, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address:

Buffalo flies (Haematobia irritans exigua) are ectoparasites of major animal health and production concern in north Australian beef herds. Skin lesions associated with buffalo fly infestation, cause hide damage and welfare issues and are manifested as dermatitis or ulcerated areas found most commonly near the medial canthus of the eye, along the lateral and ventral neck and on the abdomen. Buffalo flies can transmit a nematode, Stephanofilaria sp. Read More

Vet Parasitol 2022 May 14:109721. Epub 2022 May 14.

AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Private Bag 11008, Tennent Drive, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.

Farmed red deer face challenges from nematode parasites, primarily the pulmonary species Dictyocaulus eckerti and the complex of Ostertagiinae nematodes in the abomasum. Previous investigations on New Zealand deer farms identified limited seasonality in faecal egg and larval output in all stock classes, however, this does not indicate the key times of year those eggs develop into infective-stage larvae, and subsequently contribute to infection risk. A simple temperature-driven model was developed for the free-living stages of a representative deer-specific Ostertagiinae species; Ostertagia leptospicularis. Read More

J Invertebr Pathol 2022 May 18:107769. Epub 2022 May 18.

Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:

Nephridiophagids are unicellular fungi (Chytridiomycota), which infect the Malpighian tubules of insects. While most life cycle features are known, the effects of these endobionts on their hosts remain poorly understood. Here, we present results on the influence of an infection of the cockroach Blattella germanica with Nephridiophaga blattellae (Ni = Nephridiophaga-infected) on physical, physiological, and reproductive fitness parameters. Read More

Mol Plant Pathol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an important antioxidant in plants and regulates various physiological processes. In this study, we show that exogenous treatments with the oxidized form of AsA, that is, dehydroascorbate (DHA), activates induced systemic resistance in rice against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola, and investigate the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying this phenotype. Detailed transcriptome analysis on roots of rice plants showed an early and robust transcriptional response on foliar DHA treatment, with induction of several genes related to plant stress responses, immunity, antioxidant activity, and secondary metabolism already at 1 day after treatment. Read More

Acta Parasitol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, Belgrade, Serbia.

Purpose: The knowledge of heartworm disease in free ranging wild canid populations is limited. As it is very difficult to monitor this disease in live animals, sporadic findings are mostly obtained by examining culled individuals of game species.

Methods: As a part of a broader study on jackal (Canis aureus) ecology in Serbia, the necropsy of legally hunted animals was performed in 2020. Read More