Multisentis

Multisentis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Acanthocephala
Class:	Archiacanthocephala
Order:	Oligacanthorhynchida
Family:	Oligacanthorhynchidae
Genus:	Multisentis Smales, 1997[1]
Species:	M. myrmecobius
Binomial name
Multisentis myrmecobius Smales, 1997[1]

Multisentis is a monotypic genus of acanthocephalans (thorny-headed or spiny-headed parasitic worms). It contains a single species, Multisentis myrmecobius , parasite of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) from which it derives its species name. It was found in south-western Australia.[1]

Taxonomy

The National Center for Biotechnology Information does not indicate that any phylogenetic analysis has been published on Multisentis that would confirm its position as a unique order in the family Oligacanthorhynchidae.[2]

Description

Multisentis consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk.

Distribution

The distribution of M. myrmecobius is determined by that of its hosts. M. myrmecobius has been found in south-western Australia.[1]

Hosts

Life cycle of Acanthocephala.[3][a]

The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the definitive host and then ingested by an arthropod, the intermediate host. The intermediate host of M. myrmecobius is inferred to be termites, the main diet of the numbat.[1] When the acanthor molts, the second stage called the acanthella begins. This stage involves penetrating the wall of the mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor are passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. There are no known paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for Multisentis.[5]

Multisentis myrmecobius has been found parasitizing the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus).[1] There are no reported cases of M. myrmecobius infesting humans in the English language medical literature.[4]

The numbat is a host of M. myrmecobius

Notes

1. There are no known aberrant human infections for M. myrmecobius species.[4]

References

1. Smales Lesley R. (1997) Multisentis myrmecobius, gen. et. sp. nov. (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae), from the Numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, and a Key to Genera of the Oligacanthorhynchidae. Invertebrate Systematics 11, 301-307. https://doi.org/10.1071/IT95023
2. Schoch, Conrad L; Ciufo, Stacy; Domrachev, Mikhail; Hotton, Carol L; Kannan, Sivakumar; Khovanskaya, Rogneda; Leipe, Detlef; Mcveigh, Richard; O’Neill, Kathleen; Robbertse, Barbara; Sharma, Shobha; Soussov, Vladimir; Sullivan, John P; Sun, Lu; Turner, Seán; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene (2020). "NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools". Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation. doi:10.1093/database/baaa062. PMC 7408187. PMID 32761142. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
3. CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (11 April 2019). "Acanthocephaliasis". www.cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
4. Mathison, BA; et al. (2021). "Human Acanthocephaliasis: a Thorn in the Side of Parasite Diagnostics". J Clin Microbiol. 59 (11): e02691-20. doi:10.1128/JCM.02691-20. PMC 8525584. PMID 34076470.
5. Schmidt, G.D. (1985). "Development and life cycles". In Crompton, D.W.T.; Nickol, B.B. (eds.). Biology of the Acanthocephala (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 273–305. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.