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The aim of the present study was to examine the parasite fauna present in mountain viscacha Lagidium viscacia (Caviomorpha, Chinchillidae) fecal pellets collected from 'Cueva Peligro', a cave located in Chubut province, Patagonia, Argentina, throughout the last 1200 years. A total of 84 samples were examined for parasites. Each pellet was whole processed: rehydrated, homogenized, sediment and examined using light microscopy. The samples and eggs of parasites present were described, measured and photographed. Thirty-eight samples tested positive for the nematodes Heteroxynema (Cavioxyura) viscaciae Sutton & Hugot, 1989, Helminthoxys effilatus Schuurmans-Stekhoven, 1951 (Oxyurida: Oxyuridae), Trichuris sp. Roederer, 1761 (Trichinellida: Trichuridae) and one anoplocephalid species (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae). This is the first time that H. effilatus is reported from ancient times. Significant differences of parasite occurrences through this temporal period were recorded. Parasitic life cycles and their presence along the studied period are so discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: DNA barcoding is now a common tool in parasitology and epidemiology, which require good methods for identification not only of parasites and pathogens but vectors and reservoirs. This special issue presents some advances and challenges in barcoding of microbes, parasites, and their vectors and reservoirs. DNA barcoding found new applications in disease ecology, conservation parasitology, environmental parasitology and in paleoparasitology. New technologies such as next-generation sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption–ionization time-of-flight have made it now possible to investigate large samples of specimens. By allowing the investigation of parasites at the interface between environment, biodiversity, animal and human health, barcoding and biobanking have important policy outcomes as well as ethics and legal implications. The special issue ‘Advances and challenges in the barcoding of parasites, vectors and reservoirs’ illustrates some recent advances and proposes new avenues for research in barcoding in parasitology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: While some species of parasites can be identified to species level from archaeological remains using microscopy (i.e. Enterobius vermicularis, Clonorchis sinensis), others can only be identified to family or genus level as different species produce eggs with similar morphology (i.e. Tænia sp. and Echinococcus sp.). Molecular and immunological approaches offer the possibility to provide more precise determination at the species level. They can also identify taxa when classic parasite markers such as eggs or cysts have been destroyed over time. However, biomolecules can be poorly preserved and modern reference DNA is available only for a limited number of species of parasites, leading to the conclusion that classic microscopic observation should be combined with molecular analyses. Here we present a review of the molecular approaches used over the past two decades to identify human pathogenic helminths (Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., E. vermicularis, Fasciola sp. etc.) or protists (Giardia sp., Trypanosoma sp., Leishmania sp. etc.). We also discuss the prospects for studying the evolution of parasites with genetics and genomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleoparasitological examination provides information of parasite–host associations in the past, shedding light on the geographical origin of some parasites, on the possible dispersal routes and on some of the processes that modelled the parasitic communities. The aim of the present study was to examine parasite remains present in camelid coprolites collected from the archaeological site Alero Destacamento Guardaparque, Patagonia and to discuss the paleoparasitological findings in a biogeographical and paleoecological context. Coprolites were collected from different stratified layers dating from middle to late Holocene, a period covering approximately 7000 years. Paleoparasitological examination revealed the presence of eggs attributed to Lamanema chavezi or Nematodirus lamae, Nematodirus spathiger, Dictyocaulus sp., eggs of two unidentified capillariids, Strongylus-type eggs and oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis. Enteric parasites of camelids had not changed significantly during the Holocene up to the entry of introduced livestock, although environmental conditions fluctuated greatly throughout this period, indicating the stability of these associations over time. This is the first finding of N. spathiger and Dictyocaulus sp. in paleoparasitological record and their presence are associated with the interaction of camelids with introduced livestock, which likely allowed parasite host switching. In the present study, the zoonotic importance of parasites of camelids is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]