| high prevalence of hepatozoon spp. (apicomplexa, hepatozoidae) infection in water pythons (liasis fuscus) from tropical australia. | molecular methods were used to identify blood parasites frequently observed in blood smears of water pythons (liasis fuscus) captured in our study area in the northern territory of australia. a nested polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using primers amplifying the 18s ribosomal rna (rrna) nuclear gene resulted in a short pcr product (180 bp) matching this region in the genus hepatozoon. however, because of the short sequence obtained. 2 new primers were designed based on 18s rrna sequences of 3 hep ... | 2004 | 15270125 |
| old pythons stay fit; effects of haematozoan infections on life history traits of a large tropical predator. | we document the impact of blood parasite infections caused by hepatozoon sp. on water python (liasis fuscus) life history traits such as growth rates, condition, reproductive output and survival. individual snakes maintained similar among-year parasite loads. hepatozoon infections affected python growth rate, i.e. snakes suffering from high infection levels exhibited significantly slower growth compared to individuals with low parasite loads. our results suggest that the parasites also affected ... | 2005 | 15517406 |
| molecular and morphological description of a hepatozoon species in reptiles and their ticks in the northern territory, australia. | ticks, representing 3 species of amblyomma, were collected from the water python (liasis fuscus) and 3 additional reptile species in the northern territory, australia, and tested for the presence of hepatozoon sp., the most common blood parasites of snakes. in addition, blood smears were collected from 5 reptiles, including the water python, and examined for the presence of the parasite. hepatozoon sp. dna was detected in all tick and reptile species, with 57.7% of tick samples (n = 187) and 35. ... | 2009 | 18710299 |