{"title":"Amphibian helminths in Europe revisited: taxonomy, threats, and ecological insights.","authors":"Frederik Elze, Kamil Hupało, Bernd Sures","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amphibians face numerous threats, including climate change, pollution, and emerging infectious diseases. While chytrid fungi have dominated recent research on amphibian pathogens, helminth parasites, despite their diversity and potential to impact amphibian health, remain underexplored, particularly in Europe. The goal of this review is to highlight the current state of knowledge on amphibian helminths in Europe, including current knowledge on species diversity, parasites' life history, and the availability of molecular data. We outline major challenges in amphibian helminthology and propose strategies to address them, aiming to stimulate renewed research interest. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive list of documented helminth species and their amphibian hosts, including information on publicly available DNA sequences, offering a foundation for future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145275973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ornithodoros moubata (African hut tampan; the eyeless tampan).","authors":"Sally J Cutler, Nihad Arssi, Peter Kraiczy","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145245349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-09-11DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.003
Laura Willen, Fabiano Oliveira
{"title":"The bite that binds: mosquito saliva mediates TLR2-driven flavivirus infection.","authors":"Laura Willen, Fabiano Oliveira","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mosquito saliva modulates host immunity, enhancing viral spread and disease. Suzuki et al. propose a previously uncharacterized, TLR2-driven mechanism of immunomodulation that is conserved across mosquito genera and independent of flavivirus type. This flavivirus-agnostic pathway may represent a promising target against mosquito-borne viral infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"831-833"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145055939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-08-28DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.017
Beric M Gilbert, Ronnie Mooney, Fiona L Henriquez
{"title":"From obligate to opportunistic ectoparasites: unlikely heroes of environmental monitoring.","authors":"Beric M Gilbert, Ronnie Mooney, Fiona L Henriquez","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ectoparasites and opportunistic protists exhibit species-, toxicant-, and environment-specific responses to different pollutants. This review summarises the effects of organic, inorganic, and emerging pollutants on ectoparasites and opportunistic protists, and their applicability in environmental monitoring. From an indicator context, most studies have focused on endoparasites, largely because they fulfil key criteria used to assess the general suitability of parasites as indicators. Fewer studies have assessed effects of pollution on ectoparasites and protists despite being exposed for their entire life cycles. Their sensitivity to environmental changes, host-related factors, and macroenvironment interactions position them as promising tools for ecosystem assessment. However, the complexity of multi-stressor and species-specific dynamics necessitates novel approaches to their use as bioindicators.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"922-935"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144970707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-08-23DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.014
Moses P Mahalila, Teckla Angelo, Safari Kinung'hi, David J Civitello, Naima C Starkloff
{"title":"A case of schistosomiasis and healthcare seeking in Mwanza, Tanzania.","authors":"Moses P Mahalila, Teckla Angelo, Safari Kinung'hi, David J Civitello, Naima C Starkloff","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article explores the cultural practices and diagnostic challenges surrounding schistosomiasis in Tanzania's Lake Zone. Mr Ezekiel's son endured years of misdiagnosis and ineffective treatments until the correct identification and treatment of his chronic urinary schistosomiasis, highlighting the need for improved healthcare access and awareness in rural African communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"825-828"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12488470/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144970724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-09-03DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.003
Manuel Ritter, Hsun Yun Hsu, Benjamin Lenz, Chi Anizette Kien, Narcisse Victor Tchamatchoua Gandjui, Marc P Hübner, Achim Hoerauf, Samuel Wanji
{"title":"Mansonella perstans - the forgotten filaria.","authors":"Manuel Ritter, Hsun Yun Hsu, Benjamin Lenz, Chi Anizette Kien, Narcisse Victor Tchamatchoua Gandjui, Marc P Hübner, Achim Hoerauf, Samuel Wanji","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mansonella perstans is the most prevalent human filarial parasite, infecting over 100 million people worldwide. Despite its wide distribution, it remains one of the most neglected parasitic infections, largely due to its asymptomatic clinical presentation and the difficulty in isolating adult worms. These factors have limited our understanding of its biology, including lifespan, reproductive behaviour, and migration patterns. Its strong immunomodulatory capacity can impair host immunity, increase susceptibility to coinfections, and reduce vaccine efficacy. This, combined with the lack of efficacy of single-dose ivermectin, underscores the urgent need for new treatment strategies. Encouragingly, recent advances in drug development, diagnostics, molecular tools, and experimental models are beginning to bridge key knowledge gaps, offering new insights into transmission dynamics, host-parasite interactions, and therapeutic options.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"909-921"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145001110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.008
Naomi Riithi, Jason P Mooney, Sarah E Reece
{"title":"Do microbes mediate rhythmic malaria parasite-mosquito vector interactions?","authors":"Naomi Riithi, Jason P Mooney, Sarah E Reece","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.08.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Daily rhythms in the blood-feeding activity of insect vectors determine the time of day that parasites transmit between hosts and vectors. Within the vector, parasites are exposed to myriad physiological rhythms, including in immunity and nutrition, which affect transmission success. Recently discovered rhythmicity in gut microbes, coupled with the knowledge that microbes mediate malaria transmission by modulating vector immunity and metabolism, and via direct interactions with parasites, suggest that microbes have an underappreciated influence on rhythms in parasite-vector interactions. We integrate chronobiology with evolutionary ecology to propose that microbes mediate rhythmicity in mosquito susceptibility and malaria parasite development. Understanding how the time of day transmission occurs influences the spread of malaria transmission is urgently needed, given that rhythmic activities of mosquito microbiota are likely affected by changes in mosquito biting rhythms.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"838-852"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145065742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.06.012
Barbara C Weck, Álvaro A Faccini-Martínez, Marcelo B Labruna, Sebastián Muñoz-Leal
{"title":"Amblyomma ovale.","authors":"Barbara C Weck, Álvaro A Faccini-Martínez, Marcelo B Labruna, Sebastián Muñoz-Leal","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.06.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.06.012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"938-939"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478558/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144620663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-08-16DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.012
Maanasa Bhaskaran, Venkat Mudiyam, Mathieu Gissot
{"title":"Toxoplasma gondii endodyogeny: how to make perfect daughters.","authors":"Maanasa Bhaskaran, Venkat Mudiyam, Mathieu Gissot","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii in humans is largely attributed to its capacity for rapid multiplication via a streamlined division process known as endodyogeny. The assembly of the daughter cell scaffold, occurring through a process termed budding, necessitates strict temporal and spatial regulation. Recent advances have elucidated remarkable details of the early stages of daughter cell formation, underscoring the pivotal role of the apical polar ring during the initial phases. Furthermore, emerging evidence implicates ApiAP2 transcription factors in the regulation of gene expression essential for the synthesis of daughter cell components. This transcriptional control is complemented by post-translational regulatory mechanisms governing both the initiation and maturation of the daughter cell cytoskeleton. Both processes are critical for the successful production of invasive zoites.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"868-879"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144875411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}