Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Sylvatic Rodents in Poland Using Molecular and Serological Methods

Joanna Nowicka
ORCID logo ,
Daniela Antolová
ORCID logo ,
Anna Lass
,
Beata Biernat
ORCID logo ,
Karolina Baranowicz
,
Aleksander Goll
,
Martyna Krupińska
,
Bartłomiej Ferra
,
Aneta Strachecka
ORCID logo ,
Jerzy M. Behnke
ORCID logo ,
Anna Bajer
ORCID logo ,
Maciej Grzybek
*
Version 1 : Received: 3 March 2023 / Approved: 7 March 2023 / Online: 7 March 2023 (09:38:21 CET)

How to cite: Nowicka, J.; Antolová, D.; Lass, A.; Biernat, B.; Baranowicz, K.; Goll, A.; Krupińska, M.; Ferra, B.; Strachecka, A.; Behnke, J. M.; Bajer, A.; Grzybek, M. Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Sylvatic Rodents in Poland Using Molecular and Serological Methods. Preprints 2023, 2023030132. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0132.v1 Nowicka, J.; Antolová, D.; Lass, A.; Biernat, B.; Baranowicz, K.; Goll, A.; Krupińska, M.; Ferra, B.; Strachecka, A.; Behnke, J. M.; Bajer, A.; Grzybek, M. Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Sylvatic Rodents in Poland Using Molecular and Serological Methods. Preprints 2023, 2023030132. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0132.v1

Abstract

Rodents are known to be reservoirs of Toxoplasma gondii and keep the parasite circulation in the environment. We conducted biomonitoring to assess the role of sylvatic rodents in maintaining T. gondii and to analyse the prevalence and seroprevalence of the parasite in seven wild rodent species. Rodents were collected in our study sites (woodland and open grasslands) located in northeastern Poland and dissected. We collected brain, spleen, blood and serum samples. We applied both molecular (PCR assay, nested-PCR assay) and serological (ELISA and agglutination tests) methods to indicate the best approach for application in the biomonitoring of T. gondii in small mammals. We screened samples from 95 individuals sing PCR assays and found no T. gondii DNA. The agglutination test showed no signal. We found antibodies against T. gondii in 6 sera samples out of 74 analysed (seroprevalence = 8.11% [4.0-17.1]). Our results confirm that rodents participate in the life cycle of T. gondii as reservoirs of this parasite in the sylvatic environment. However, biomonitoring should be performed with the ELISA tests to search for T. gondii antigens, rather than a molecular approach only.

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondii; rodents; rodent-borne diseases; environment contamination; biomonitoring; wildlife; molecular detection; PCR assay; nested-PCR assay prevalence; serological detection; agglutination test; ELISA method; seroprevalence

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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