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Microorganisms
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Advances in Microsporidiolog
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Advances in Microsporidiolog

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 14193

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yuri S. Tokarev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection, Podbelskogo 3, 196608 St. Petersburg, Russia
Interests: microsporidia; host range; virulence; molecular diagnostics; microbial pest control; mixed infections; integrated pest management; mass production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites which are being increasingly recognized as 21st century parasites due to their immense yet underestimated diversity, ubiquitous distribution as animal pathogens, and intimate interactions with host cells. They represent a unique model of a minimal eukaryotic cell with reduced functions and contracted genome, as well as an evolutionary conundrum and a taxonomic stumbling block for generations of biologists. As pathogens of harmful arthropods, be that agricultural and forest pests or disease vectors, Microsporidia are drawing attention as biocontrol agents, but should be treated with care considering their dangerous ability to switch between invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. As agents of microsporidiosis in beneficial arthropods, fishes, mammals and humans, Microsporidia require thoughtful examination from the standpoint of diagnostics, prophylaxis and treatment. After the 150 years of history of scientific research on microsporidia and microsporidiosis, we consider microsporidiology as a distinct field of biology, where classical studies of the parasite and the disease it incurs are supplemented by high-throughput approaches of cell and molecular biology and biotechnology. 

Dr. Yuri S. Tokarev
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microsporidia
  • microsporidiosis
  • biodiversity
  • taxonomy
  • molecular phylogeny and evolution
  • intracellular parasitism
  • microbial pest control
  • diagnostics
  • metabarcoding
  • disease prevention and treatment

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1064 KiB  
Article
Paromomycin Reduces Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae Infection in Honey Bees but Perturbs Microbiome Levels and Midgut Cell Function
by Rachel M. Cho, Helen V. Kogan, Annabelle B. Elikan and Jonathan W. Snow
Microorganisms 2022, 10(6), 1107; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10061107 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2523
Abstract
Paromomycin is a naturally occurring aminoglycoside antibiotic that has effects on both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. However, previous reports have indicated that it has little effect on microsporidia, including Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae, in cell culture models. V. ceranae is one of a [...] Read more.
Paromomycin is a naturally occurring aminoglycoside antibiotic that has effects on both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. However, previous reports have indicated that it has little effect on microsporidia, including Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae, in cell culture models. V. ceranae is one of a number of microsporidia species that cause disease in honey bees and substantial efforts to find new treatment strategies for bees that are infected with these pathogens are ongoing. When testing compounds for potential activity against V. ceranae in whole organisms, we found that paromomycin reduces the infection intensity of this parasite. Critically, the necessary doses of paromomycin have high activity against the bacteria of the honey bee microbiome and cause evident stress in bees. Microsporidia have been shown to lack an essential binding site on the ribosome that is known to allow for maximal inhibition by paromomycin. Thus, it is possible that paromomycin impacts parasite levels through non-cell autonomous effects on microsporidia infection levels via effects on the microbiome or midgut cellular function. As paromomycin treatment could cause widespread honey bee health issues in agricultural settings, it does not represent an appropriate anti-microsporidia agent for use in the field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microsporidiolog)
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19 pages, 6636 KiB  
Article
Revising the Freshwater Thelohania to Astathelohania gen. et comb. nov., and Description of Two New Species
by Cheyenne E. Stratton, Lindsey S. Reisinger, Donald C. Behringer and Jamie Bojko
Microorganisms 2022, 10(3), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10030636 - 17 Mar 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3447
Abstract
Crayfish are common hosts of microsporidian parasites, prominently from the genus Thelohania. Thelohania is a polyphyletic genus, with multiple genetically distinct lineages found from freshwater and marine environments. Researchers have been calling for a revision of this group for over a decade. [...] Read more.
Crayfish are common hosts of microsporidian parasites, prominently from the genus Thelohania. Thelohania is a polyphyletic genus, with multiple genetically distinct lineages found from freshwater and marine environments. Researchers have been calling for a revision of this group for over a decade. We provide evidence that crayfish-infecting freshwater Thelohania are genetically and phylogenetically distinct from the marine Thelohania (Clade V/Glugeida), whilst also describing two new species that give further support to the taxonomic revision. We propose that the freshwater Thelohania should be transferred to their own genus, Astathelohania gen. et comb. nov., in a new family (Astathelohaniidae n. fam.). This results in the revision of Thelohania contejeani (Astathelohania contejeani), Thelohania montirivulorum (Astathelohania montirivulorum), and Thelohania parastaci (Astathelohania parastaci). We also describe two novel muscle-infecting Astathelohania species, A. virili n. sp. and A. rusti n. sp., from North American crayfishes (Faxonius sp.). We used histological, molecular, and ultrastructural data to formally describe the novel isolates. Our data suggest that the Astathelohania are genetically distinct from other known microsporidian genera, outside any described family, and that their SSU rRNA gene sequence diversity follows their host species and native geographic location. The range of this genus currently includes North America, Europe, and Australia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microsporidiolog)
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18 pages, 4455 KiB  
Article
Proteomic Analysis of Spore Surface Proteins and Characteristics of a Novel Spore Wall Protein and Biomarker, EhSWP3, from the Shrimp Microsporidium Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP)
by Xiaodong Fan, Chunmei Wei, Xiaojuan Yang, Ai Xiao, Nianqiu Tan, Jie Chen, Mengxian Long, Guoqing Pan, Yongji Wan and Zeyang Zhou
Microorganisms 2022, 10(2), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020367 - 4 Feb 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3371
Abstract
Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei, a spore-forming and obligate intracellular microsporidium, mainly infects shrimp and results in growth retardation and body length variation, causing huge economic losses to the Asian shrimp aquaculture industry. However, the lack of a full understanding of the surface proteins of [...] Read more.
Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei, a spore-forming and obligate intracellular microsporidium, mainly infects shrimp and results in growth retardation and body length variation, causing huge economic losses to the Asian shrimp aquaculture industry. However, the lack of a full understanding of the surface proteins of spores associated with host infection has hindered the development of technologies for the detection of EHP. In this study, the surface proteins of EHP spores were extracted using the improved SDS method, and 130 proteins were identified via LC-MS/MS analysis. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that these proteins were enriched in biological processes (67), cellular components (62), and molecular functions (71) based on GO terms. KEGG pathway analysis showed that 20 pathways, including the proteasome (eight proteins) and the fatty acid metabolism (15 proteins), were enriched. Among 15 high-abundance surface proteins (HASPs), EhSWP3 was identified as a novel spore wall protein (SWP), and was localized on the endospore of the EHP spores with an indirect immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy assay. Polyclonal antibodies against EhSWP3 showed strong species specificity and high sensitivity to the hepatopancreas of EHP-infected shrimp. As a specific high-abundance protein, EhSWP3 is therefore a promising target for the development of immunoassay tools for EHP detection, and may play a crucial role in the invasion of EHP into the host. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microsporidiolog)
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Review

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15 pages, 3442 KiB  
Review
Diversity, Distribution, and Development of Hyperparasitic Microsporidia in Gregarines within One Super-Host
by Ekaterina V. Frolova, Gita G. Paskerova, Alexey V. Smirnov and Elena S. Nassonova
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010152 - 6 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2724
Abstract
Metchnikovellids (Microsporidia: Metchnikovellida) are poorly studied hyperparasitic microsporidia that live in gregarines inhabiting the intestines of marine invertebrates, mostly polychaetes. Our recent studies showed that diversity of metchnikovellids might be significantly higher than previously thought, even within a single host. Four species of [...] Read more.
Metchnikovellids (Microsporidia: Metchnikovellida) are poorly studied hyperparasitic microsporidia that live in gregarines inhabiting the intestines of marine invertebrates, mostly polychaetes. Our recent studies showed that diversity of metchnikovellids might be significantly higher than previously thought, even within a single host. Four species of metchnikovellids were found in the gregarines inhabiting the gut of the polychaete Pygospio elegans from littoral populations of the White and Barents Seas: the eugregarine Polyrhabdina pygospionis is the host for Metchnikovella incurvata and M. spiralis, while the archigregarine Selenidium pygospionis is the host for M. dogieli and M. dobrovolskiji. The most common species in the White Sea is M. incurvata, while M. dobrovolskiji prevails in the Barents Sea. Gregarines within a single worm could be infected with different metchnikovellid species. However, co-infection of one and the same gregarine with several species of metchnikovellids has never been observed. The difference in prevalence and intensity of metchnikovellid invasion apparently depends on the features of the life cycle and on the development strategies of individual species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microsporidiolog)
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