Southwellina

Southwellina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Acanthocephala
Class: Palaeacanthocephala
Order: Polymorphida
Family: Polymorphidae
Genus: Southwellina
Witenberg, 1932

Southwellina is a genus in Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms, also known as spiny-headed worms).

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Witenberg in 1932. phylogenetic analysis has been published on Southwellina species.[1] The type species is S. hispida.

Description

Southwellina species consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk.

Species

The genus Southwellina contains three species.

  • Southwellina hispida (Van Cleave, 1925)
  • Southwellina macracanthus (Ward & Winter, 1952)
  • Southwellina sacra Bhattacharya, Pande & Srivastaca, 2002

Distribution

The distribution of Southwellina is determined by that of its hosts. The species of this genus are found in Northern America and India.[2]

Hosts

Diagram of the life cycle of Acanthocephala
Life cycle of Acanthocephala.[3][a]

The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host. Although the intermediate hosts of Southwellina are arthropods. When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor is passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. Some paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for S. hispida is Gillichthys mirabilis.[5]

Southwellina is a generalist parasite that uses a wide range of definitive hosts to complete its life cycle.[6] There are no reported cases of Southwellina infesting humans in the English language medical literature.[4]

  • Hosts for xx species

Notes

  1. ^ There are no known aberrant human infections for Southwellina species.[4]

References

  1. ^ Gazi M, Kim J, Park JK. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Southwellina hispida supports monophyly of Palaeacanthocephala (Acanthocephala: Polymorphida). Parasitol Int. 2015 Aug;64(4):64-8. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2015.01.009. Epub 2015 Feb 3. PMID: 25656507.
  2. ^ "Southwellina Witenberg, 1932". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ^ CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (April 11, 2019). "Acanthocephaliasis". www.cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Mathison, BA; et al. (2021). "Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics". J Clin Microbiol. 59 (11): e02691-20. doi:10.1128/JCM.02691-20. PMC 8525584. PMID 34076470.
  5. ^ Schmidt, G.D. (1985). "Development and life cycles". In Crompton, D.W.T.; Nickol, B.B. (eds.). Biology of the Acanthocephala (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 273–305. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  6. ^ García-Varela M, López-Jiménez A, González-García MT, Sereno-Uribe AL, Andrade-Gómez L. Contrasting the population genetic structure of a specialist (Hexaglandula corynosoma: Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) and a generalist parasite (Southwellina hispida) distributed sympatrically in Mexico. Parasitology. 2023 Jan 12;150(4):1-11. doi: 10.1017/S0031182023000033. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36748352; PMCID: PMC10090582.


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