<i>Sarcocystis</i> and <i>Hepatozoon</i> Infections in Tongues of Bobcats (<i>Lynx rufus</i>) in Oklahoma, USA
Archived, frozen tongues of 56 bobcats (<i>Lynx rufus</i>) from Oklahoma, USA, were tested for parasites. Testing for <i>Sarcocystis</i> infections included microscopic examination of unstained muscle squashes, histological sections of paraffin-embedded tissues, and molecular...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Parasitologia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6772/5/2/24 |
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| Summary: | Archived, frozen tongues of 56 bobcats (<i>Lynx rufus</i>) from Oklahoma, USA, were tested for parasites. Testing for <i>Sarcocystis</i> infections included microscopic examination of unstained muscle squashes, histological sections of paraffin-embedded tissues, and molecular characterization. By a combination of both compression methods and histology, sarcocysts were found in 28 (50.0%) of 56 bobcats. In compression preparations, the sarcocyst wall appeared thin and protrusions were not clear. Histologically, tissues were degraded and, in most tongues, only a few sarcocysts were found, except bobcat #35. Multilocus genotyping utilizing <i>18S</i> rRNA, <i>28S</i> rRNA, and <i>cox1</i> genes yielded sequences exhibiting 98–100% identity with both <i>Sarcocystis arctica</i> and <i>Sarcocystis caninum</i> isolates available in the NCBI database. <i>Hepatozoon rufi</i>-like meronts were found in two tongues and is the first report of <i>Hepatozoon</i> infections in bobcats in Oklahoma. |
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| ISSN: | 2673-6772 |