Parasitology
- Parasitology / Volume 139 / Issue 10 / September 2012, pp 1301-1308
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031182012000558 (About DOI), Published online: 13 April 2012
Research Article
Anthelmintic tolerance in free-living and facultative parasitic isolates of Halicephalobus (Panagrolaimidae)
P. FONDERIEa1 c1, W. BERTa1, F. HENDRICKXa3a4, W. HOUTHOOFDa1 and T. MOENSa2
a1 Nematology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
a2 Marine Biology Section, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
a3 Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
a4 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, rue Vautiers 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
SUMMARY
Studies on anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites do not include facultative parasites. Halicephalobus gingivalis is a free-living bacterivorous nematode and a known facultative parasite of horses with a strong indication of some form of tolerance to common anthelmintic drugs. This research presents the results of an in vitro study on the anthelmintic tolerance of several isolates of Halicephalobus to thiabendazole and ivermectin using an adaptation of the Micro-Agar Larval Development Test hereby focusing on egg hatching and larval development. Panagrellus redivivus and Panagrolaimus superbus were included as a positive control. The results generally show that the anthelmintic tolerance of Halicephalobus to both thiabendazole and ivermectin was considerably higher than that of the closely related Panagrolaimidae and, compared to other studies, than that of obligatory equine parasites. Our results further reveal a remarkable trend of increasing tolerance from fully free-living isolates towards horse-associated isolates. In vitro anthelmintic testing with free-living and facultative parasitic nematodes offers the advantage of observing drug effect on the complete life cycle as opposed to obligatory parasites that can only be followed until the third larval stage. We therefore propose Halicephalobus gingivalis as an experimental tool to deepen our understanding of the biology of anthelmintic tolerance.
(Received March 22 2011)
(Revised November 21 2011)
(Revised February 23 2012)
(Revised March 02 2012)
(Online publication April 13 2012)
Correspondence:
c1 Corresponding author: Nematology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University; K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Tel: +32 92645225. Fax: +32 92645344. E-mail: Pamela.Fonderie@UGent.be
