Acanthocheilonema viteae

Acanthocheilonema viteae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Nematoda
Class:	Secernentea
Order:	Spirurida
Family:	Onchocercidae
Genus:	Acanthocheilonema
Species:	A. viteae
Binomial name
	Acanthocheilonema viteae;

Acanthocheilonema viteae is a species of parasitic nematodes. Previously called Dipetalonema viteae, it is a rodent filarial worm that is often used as a model to study human filarial infections. Filarial nematodes are the causative agents of filariases, tropical diseases that afflict about 160 million people worldwide. Currently, neither safe and efficient drugs nor vaccines are available to eliminate or prevent these infections, which makes the development of new control strategies a priority.[1]

A. viteae is an animal parasite. These filarial nematodes and their animal hosts are often used as models for studies on the biology of human infection. It shares considerable antigenic homology with the human filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus; this allows for rapid analysis of larval development, which is essential to efforts in vaccine development.[2]

Research

A. viteae is one of the few filaroids that do not bear Wolbachia bacteria. Infection with Wolbachia is essential to the continued good health and reproduction of their nematode hosts. Molecular studies suggest that A. viteae either lost its symbionts before they became essential or diverged from other filaroids before Wolbachia acquisition.[3] More recent research found Wolbachia-like sequences in the genomes of A. viteae, some of which were transcribed in developing embryos and testes of the nematode, which suggested horizontal transfer of genetic material from an ancestral bacterial endosymbiont.[4]

References

Tachu, B; Pillai, S; Lucius, R; Pogonka, T (2008). "Essential role of chitinase in the development of the filarial nematode Acanthocheilonema viteae". Infect Immun. 76: 221–8. doi:10.1128/IAI.00701-07. PMC 2223640. PMID 17938220.
Eisenbeiss, WF; Apfel, H; Meyer, TF (1991). "Recovery, distribution, and development of Acanthocheilonema viteae third- and early fourth-stage larvae in adult jirds". J Parasitol. 77: 580–6. doi:10.2307/3283163. PMID 1865266.
Schmidt, Gerald D. and Larry S. Roberts. Foundations of Parasitology. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009.
McNulty SN, Foster JM, Mitreva M, Dunning Hotopp JC, Martin J, Fischer K, Wu B, Davis PJ, Kumar S, Brattig NW, Slatko BE, Weil GJ, Fischer PU. Endosymbiont DNA in endobacteria-free filarial nematodes indicates ancient horizontal genetic transfer. PLoS One. 2010 Jun 9;5(6):e11029

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[1] Tachu, B; Pillai, S; Lucius, R; Pogonka, T (2008). "Essential role of chitinase in the development of the filarial nematode Acanthocheilonema viteae". Infect Immun. 76: 221–8. doi:10.1128/IAI.00701-07. PMC 2223640. PMID 17938220.

[2] Eisenbeiss, WF; Apfel, H; Meyer, TF (1991). "Recovery, distribution, and development of Acanthocheilonema viteae third- and early fourth-stage larvae in adult jirds". J Parasitol. 77: 580–6. doi:10.2307/3283163. PMID 1865266.

[3] Schmidt, Gerald D. and Larry S. Roberts. Foundations of Parasitology. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009.

[4] McNulty SN, Foster JM, Mitreva M, Dunning Hotopp JC, Martin J, Fischer K, Wu B, Davis PJ, Kumar S, Brattig NW, Slatko BE, Weil GJ, Fischer PU. Endosymbiont DNA in endobacteria-free filarial nematodes indicates ancient horizontal genetic transfer. PLoS One. 2010 Jun 9;5(6):e11029