Applied Protozoology

and Parasitology
selected pages
The study of parasitic phenomena have not only
of practical, but of the greatest theoretical interest
W.M. Schimkevich, 1898

overview

Pisa 2014

(Leishmania tropica)

The vectors are Glossina spp. flies

Hidden parasitological world

Trichomonas sp.

Ascaris lumbricoides

Trypanosoma sp.

Giardia lamblia

Plasmodium sp.

Fasciola hepatica

Leishmania sp.

External environment A
Host organism B
Localization inside of the host C
Free living stages of parasites D
D
D
B
ectoparasits

C
Endoparasites
B

hyperparasites

A General multitude of parasite systems

R. Leuckart (1879) made the first attempt to define animal parasites

and to enumerate the properties which distinguish them from freeliving organisms. Parasite he stated, In the wide and true sense
of this term, are all those creatures which find their nourishment and
habitat on other living organismsto the parasites belong not only
intestinal worms and forms related to them, but also creatures related
to some free-living animals, from which they differ only in their mode
of feedingany organism feeding at the expense of another living
organism without killing it, as a predator would, is a parasite.
Leuckarts words suggest that parasitism is, as it were, a type of
predation, determinated mainly by the comparative sizes of the
predator and its prey. The life on, or within, the body of another
animal is, for Leuckart, a secondary feature by no means obligatory
on all parasites. Later on M. Caullery (1922) defines parasitism as
the normal and obligatory condition of life for an organism which
feeds on another organism, the host, without destroying it as
predators do their prey

A.

Since the mode of feeding did not suffice to define the parasite,
some authors attempted to clarify the concept by adding another
distinguishing feature the harmful effect of the parasite on the host
(Minchin, 1912; Dobell, 1919; Kholodkovsky, 1921; Skryabin, 1923).
They considered parasitims to be a type of biological relationship
between two organism, in which one of them (the parasite) lives
temporarily or permanently on the body or within the organs and
tissues of the other (the host), feeding at its expense and offering
no benefit in return. This definition takes into account the spatial
(but not ecological) relationship, the mode of feeding and the
unilateral character of the gain, which is obtained by one member
of the association at the expense of the other. Varying physiological
conditions mean that a parasite can have considerable pathogenic
effects in some circumstances, while appearing completely harmless
in other. The pathogenicity of the parasite, therefore, is not
determinate by its own properties alone, but by their relationship
with those of body of the host.

PARASITES:
Parasites are those animals which use other living animals
as their environment and source of food, at the same time
shifted to their hosts, partly or completely, the task
of regulation their relationships with the external
environment. In the main, therefore, parasitism is an
ecological concept. Consequently, parasitology should
concern itself not only the parasite and the host, but also
with those relationships and adaptations which arise as
the result of one animal taking its abode in or on another.

The three major groups of organisms now recognized as falling within

the scope of parasitology are protozoa, helminths, and arthropods.
They vary greatly in many biological characteristics. Protozoa are
unicellular organisms that are microscopic in size and that share with
other micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses the capability of
dividing and multiplying within their mammalian (or other) host. In
contrast, worms are multicellular; all adults can be seen by the naked
eye and may reach huge dimensions for example, some
tapeworms may reach 10m in length. Furthermore, worms generally
cannot multiply within the mammalian host, re-exposure must occur.
The third group of zooparasites, the arthropods, represent a
heterogeneous collection of vectors of disease or they themselves
may parasitize mammalian hosts causing varying degrees of
discomfort or disease. Recently the term microparasites has been
introduced to include viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. They are small
in size, have high rates of direct reproduction within the host, and
result typically in a short duration of infection. Macroparasites, on the
other hand, include worms and arthropods, are larger, have much
longer generation time as multiplication in the host usually does not
occur, and produce infections that tend to be prolonged.

Group of organisms

Number of
species

Presence of
parasites

**

5, 6 mature trophozoites

form which enter

the intestinal wall and
then to organs (liver)

precyst
binuclear cyst

metacyst

Life cycles of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and rhodesiense

causes of sleeping sickness
Disease in West and East Africa

Trypomastigote
diploid form
(4) has no
cytochromes

Transformation into
epimastigote forms have
active mitochondrion (5-6)

Metacyclic trypomasigote stage forms

in the salivary glands,
Infectious for man (7)

Stumpy stages
which can
develop in
tsetse fly
(3)

(1.1) amastigotes
after 48h and
transformation into
slender blood forms
with surface coat (1-2)

Stages 1.1-2 have no

Krebs cycle and
cytochromes

Chelicerata

Mandibulata

Panstrongylus megistus

Rhodnius prolixus
Different vectors from Dipthera and Hemipthera

Stomoxys sp.
Triatoma sordida

Horsefly: Tabanus sp.

Vampire bat: Desmodus rotundus

Different Vectors

Horsefly: Tabanus magnum

Trypanosomas vectors

Rat flea

Origin of parasites
Parasites originated from their free-living ancestors; they evolved along
with their hosts. Consequently certain groups of parasites are limited to
specific groups of hosts. This evolutionary relationship between
parasites and their hosts may give valuable information about the
relationship between different groups of hosts. For example, the
moderately evolved monogenetic trematodes parasitize only fish, while
the highly evolved digenetic trematodes are found not only in fish but
more commonly in higher vertebrates. Furthermore, the more advanced
digenetic trematodes tend to occur in the highest host groups.
Parasites may need more than one group of hosts. A definitive host is
the one that harbors the adult stage of a parasite while the larval forms
are located in an intermediate host. Some parasites may have more
than one intermediate host. A vector is an arthropod, mollusc, or other
agent which transmits the parasite from one vertebrate (or invertebrate)
host to another. If parasite development occurs within the vector it is
called biological to differentiate it from mechanical vectors, where
parasites are simply passively transmitted.

sexual part
infectious stage
asexual part

infectious stage

Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the

relationships between them. As a biological discipline, the
scope of P. is not determined by organism or
environment, but by their way of life. It means it forms a
synthesis of other disciplines and draws on techniques
from fields such as zoology, cell biology, biochemistry,
molecular
biology, immunology, evolution, genetics, and ecology.
The study of these diverse organisms means that the
subject is often broken up into simpler, more focused
units, which use common techniques, even if they are not
studying the same organisms or diseases. Much research
in parasitology falls somewhere between two or more of
these definitions. In general, the study of prokaryotes fall
under the field of bacteriology rather than classical
parasitology.

Hostparasite relationship
Entry of a specific parasite into a specific host is called
infection. The outcome of such a process determines the survival
of the parasite and occurrence of untoward effects, such as
disease. Parasites invade their hosts through skin or mucous
membranes, or by ingestion, or they may be transmitted
through the placenta from the mother during birth, or by blood
transfusion (also via vectors). On entry into the host, parasites
may die or be killed, or may go through the host unchanged; in both
cases no major pathological consequences of infection can be
detected in the host. Alternatively, parasites may survive within the
host or may proceed to develop and multiply. In both circumstances
disease may occur. It is, therefore, important to differentiate
between infection and disease due to zooparasites. The etiology
of disease due to parasite invasion of mammalian or other hosts is
almost always multifactorial: both parasite and host contribute to
a delicate balance that may either arrest infection or lead to
pathological sequels. Parasites result in disease because of their
specific physiological or nutritional needs; disease may also occur
because of mechanical destruction of host tissues.

The host in turn attempts to reject the foreign invader using

a multiplicity of immunological and non-immunological
mechanism. A by-product of some of these host responses is a
chain of immunopathological reactions that ultimately results in
illness.
The hostparasite relationship is a dynamic process; the host
uses several natural (innate) and acquired protective
mechanisms. The complex structure of zooparasites in contrast
to bacteria and viruses poses a significant challenge to host
immune responses. Furthermore, not all of these responses are
protective. In fact, protective immunity is the exception rather
than the rule after a specific parasitic infection. Successful
survival of parasites has dictated that several mechanisms
of evasion of host protective mechanisms have been
developed to ensure their propagation. Parasites evade their
host's immune responses either by simple mechanisms such as
intracellular location or by more elaborate processes involving
changing their antigenic structure or altering the host responses
in a way that favors their survival.

Medical parasitology
One of the largest fields in parasitology, medical
parasitology is the subject which deals with the parasites
that infect man, the diseases caused by them, clinical
picture and the response generated by man against them.
Its also concerned with the various methods of their
diagnosis, treatment and finally their prevention and
control. A parasite is an organism that live on or within
another organism called the host. There include organisms
such as:
Plasmodium spp., the protozoan parasite which causes
malaria. The four species of malarias parasites infective to
humans. Leishmania donovani, the kinetoplastid protozoan
which causes leishmaniasis. Multicellular organisms
such as Schistosoma spp., Fasciolla spp. Taenia spp. which
causes helminthosis or Nematoda - fillariosis.

Ring forms of P. malaria and P. falciparum

sporozoit of P.falciparum

Leishmania sp. vector Phlebotomus sp., promastigotes,

and effect on the host: the development of amastigote stages
into the skin

Life cycle of Echinococcus granulosis

and E. multilocularis
Adult worms lives in the small intestine
Eggs containing infectious oncosphaera
released in the feces of the host;
eggs ingested by intermediate host
or man where oncosph. migrate via
blood to many organs. Cysts formed
mostly in the liver and lung/ In cysts
capsules protoscolices are formed.
The last one can infect the final host.

Human filarial worm Wuchereria bancrofti (4-10 cm)

and sickness produced by it filariasis (elephant disease).
Blockade of lymph stream.

Veterinary and ichthyo- parasitology

The study of parasites that cause economical losses in
agriculture or aquaculture operations, or infect companion
(cultivated) animals.

Parasite ecology
Parasites can provide information about host population
ecology. In fisheries biology, for example, parasite
communities can be used to distinguish distinct population
of the same fish species. Additionally, parasites posses a
variety of specialized traits and life-history strategies that
enable them to colonize hosts. Understanding these
aspects of parasite ecology of interest in their own right.

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

The huge diversity between parasitic organisms create a
challenge for biologists who wish to describe and
catalogue them, identify separate species and its
relationships.

Directions of studies: Protozoology, Parasitology, Cytology,

Embryology

Microscopes made in Italy at the end of XIX-beginning of XX centuries

Phylogeny
of Eukaryota

Number of
species

(Superclass)
(class)