Antibodies Against Toxoplasma gondii in the Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) From the Solomon Islands

• Published in: The Journal of parasitology Vol. 91; no. 4; pp. 965 - 967
• Main Authors: Omata, Yoshitaka, Hammond, Ted, Itoh, Keiko, Murata, Koichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence, KS American Society of Parasitologists 01-08-2005; Allen Press Inc
• Subjects: Agglutination; Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Antibodies, Protozoan - immunology; Antibody Specificity; Antigens; Aquatic mammals; Binding; Biological and medical sciences; Bottle-Nosed Dolphin - parasitology; Cell culture; Cetacea; Dilution; Dolphins; Dolphins & porpoises; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; IgG antibody; Immunoblotting; Immunoblotting - veterinary; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Invertebrates; Islands; Latex; Latex agglutination; Latex Fixation Tests - veterinary; Mammalia; Marine mammals; Melanesia - epidemiology; Membranes; Parasites; Parasitology; Protozoa; RESEARCH NOTES; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Tachyzoites; Toxoplasma - immunology; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - epidemiology; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - immunology; Tursiops aduncus; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Veterinary medicine; Melanesia; Oceania; Solomon Islands; Japan; Protozoa; Apicomplexa; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Toxoplasma gondii; Antibody; Parasite; Cetacea
• ISSN: 0022-3395; 1937-2345
• DOI: 10.1645/GE-3457RN.1

Serum samples from 58 Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) from the Solomon Islands were tested for the IgG antibody to Toxoplasma gondii by the latex agglutination test (LAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoblotting. The ELISA cut-off value was taken as OD ≥ 0.276, and the final dilution ratio, recognized as positive, was represented by the end titer. In 25 of 58 samples, no antibody activity was detected by LAT and ELISA. In 8 of 58 samples, anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected by both LAT and ELISA, with titers of greater than 1 : 64 and 1 : 160, respectively. By immunoblotting, the 8 serum samples producing higher titers showed specific antibody IgG binding to several antigens on the T. gondii lane, but not on the Neospora caninum lane. No specific bands were noted on the lanes for either parasite in the 25 serum samples for which no antibody activity was detected. The specific binding of IgG antibodies to T. gondii antigens observed for serum samples producing higher titers suggests that Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon islands are exposed to T. gondii.