Intermediate host recognition abilities of Fasciola hepatica miracidia

Natasha Sharma; Tanapan Sukee; Scott F Cummins; Bonnie L Webster; Winston F Ponder; Anson V Koehler; Neil D Young

doi:10.1186/s13071-025-07125-y

Back

Intermediate host recognition abilities of Fasciola hepatica miracidia

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Intermediate host recognition abilities of Fasciola hepatica miracidia

Natasha Sharma, Tanapan Sukee, Scott F Cummins, Bonnie L Webster, Winston F Ponder, Anson V Koehler and Neil D Young

Parasites & Vectors, Vol.18, pp.1-11

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-07125-y

PMID: 41291783

Files and links (1)

pdf

s13071-025-07125-y1.82 MBDownload View

Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access

Abstract

parasite selectivity

attachment

Fasciola

native

invasive

Lymnaeid

host-seeking behaviour

Background Fasciola hepatica, the causative agent of fascioliasis in sheep and cattle, requires a compatible snail intermediate host to complete its life cycle. The aquatic larval stage of this parasite is well-adapted for host-finding, with chemotactic abilities that enable it to sense potential host biomolecules. The extent of intermediate host recognition, particularly at the species level, and the downstream correlation with successful attachment has not been explored. This study investigated the ability of F. hepatica miracidia to distinguish between native and invasive host and non-host freshwater snail species during the host-finding and host-attachment phases. Methods Quantitative and qualitative measurements of miracidial behaviour were compared pre- and post-exposure with snail-conditioned water (SCW) from both native and invasive host snails (lymnaeids Austropeplea cf. brazieri and Pseudosuccinea columella) and non-host snails (the lymnaeid Bullastra lessoni and the physid Physa acuta). Miracidia were also exposed to live snails of each representative species to ascertain whether host-finding correlates with successful miracidial host-attachment. Results Miracidia displayed clear shifts in movement profiles post-exposure to SCW, with no qualitative or quantitative differences observed in the behavioural response to different snail species. When exposed to live snails, miracidia were more likely to attach to both host and non-host native species (A. cf. brazieri and B. lessoni) compared with invasive snail species (P. columella and P. acuta). Among invasive snails, miracidia had a higher rate of successful attachment with P. columella (host) than with P. acuta (non-host). Conclusions The miracidia of F. hepatica exhibit analogous host-finding responses post-exposure to SCW, regardless of which snail species they are exposed to. Host-finding responses do not correlate with miracidial ability to attach to the snail tissue or with the established host status of the respective snail species. These results provide an insight into host-finding preferences of F. hepatica within the Australian context and lay an important foundation for further exploration into intermediate host–parasite interactions and their mechanisms of action.

Details

Title: Intermediate host recognition abilities of Fasciola hepatica miracidia
Authors: Natasha Sharma (Corresponding Author) - The University of Melbourne
Tanapan Sukee - The University of Melbourne
Scott F Cummins - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Bioinnovation
Bonnie L Webster - Natural History Museum
Winston F Ponder - Australian Museum
Anson V Koehler - The University of Melbourne
Neil D Young (Corresponding Author) - The University of Melbourne
Publication details: Parasites & Vectors, Vol.18, pp.1-11
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-025-07125-y
ISSN: 1756-3305
PMID: 41291783
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
Data Availability: The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.
Grants: Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission, DP230100270, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991187545602621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

31 File views/ downloads

6 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Parasitology; Tropical Medicine

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites