The genome of Plasmodium falciparum has one of the most skewed base-pair compositions of any eukaryote, with an AT content of 80–90%. As start and stop codons are AT-rich, the probability of finding upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in messenger RNAs (mRNAs) is high and parasite mRNAs have an average of 11 uORFs in their leader sequences. Similar to other eukaryotes, uORFs repress the translation of the downstream open reading frame (dORF) in P. falciparum, yet the parasite translation machinery is able to bypass these uORFs and reach the dORF to initiate translation. This can happen by leaky scanning and/or reinitiation.

In this report, we assessed leaky scanning and reinitiation by studying the effect of uORFs on the translation of a dORF, in this case, the luciferase reporter gene, and showed that both mechanisms are employed in the asexual blood stages of P. falciparum. Furthermore, in addition to the codon usage of the uORF, translation of the dORF is governed by the Kozak sequence and length of the uORF, and inter-cistronic distance between the uORF and dORF. Based on these features whole-genome data was analysed to uncover classes of genes that might be regulated by uORFs. This study indicates that leaky scanning and reinitiation appear to be widespread in asexual stages of P. falciparum, which may require modifications of existing factors that are involved in translation initiation in addition to novel, parasite-specific proteins.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), a regulatory enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway from Brugia malayi, was cloned, expressed and biochemically characterized. The Km values for glucose-6-phosphate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) were 0·25 and 0·014 mm respectively. The rBmG6PD exhibited an optimum pH of 8·5 and temperature, 40 °C. Adenosine 5′ [γ-thio] triphosphate (ATP-γ-S), adenosine 5′ [β,γ-imido] triphosphate (ATP-β,γ-NH), adenosine 5′ [β-thio] diphosphate (ADP-β-S), Na+, K+, Li+ and Cu++ ions were found to be strong inhibitors of rBmG6PD. The rBmG6PD, a tetramer with subunit molecular weight of 75 kDa contains 0·02 mol of SH group per mol of monomer. Blocking the SH group with SH-inhibitors, led to activation of rBmG6PD activity by N-ethylmaleimide. CD analysis indicated that rBmG6PD is composed of 37% α-helices and 26% β-sheets. The unfolding equilibrium of rBmG6PD with GdmCl/urea showed the triphasic unfolding pattern along with the highly stable intermediate obtained by GdmCl.

Maternal filarial infection influences the risk of acquiring infection and development of immunity in children. Here we have analysed the blood samples of 60 mothers (24 infected and 36 uninfected) and their corresponding cord bloods to assess the impact of maternal infection on the anti-sheath antibodies and cytokine production in neonates born from them. About 69·4% of non-infected mothers and their cord bloods showed the presence of anti-sheath antibodies, while only 16·6% of the cord bloods from infected mothers were positive for it. The IL-10 level was significantly high in cord bloods of infected mothers compared with non-infected mothers. At the same time the IL-10 level was also observed to be remarkably high in cord bloods of both infected and non-infected mothers negative for anti-sheath antibody. In contrast, IFN-γ levels were significantly high in cord bloods of non-infected mothers compared with infected mothers and the increment was prominent in cord bloods of both infected and non-infected mothers positive for anti-sheath antibody. The study reveals that the presence or absence of anti-sheath antibodies in association with cytokines skews the filarial specific immunity to either Th1 or Th2 responses in neonates. This may affect the natural history of filarial infection in early childhood.

The A subunit of NF-Y nuclear factor from Schistosoma mansoni was expressed in E. coli fused to a histidine tag and purified by affinity chromatography using a Ni2+-Agarose matrix. Antibodies against the recombinant protein were prepared and used for Western blot and immunolocalization. The presence of SMNF-YA in all stages of the parasite life-cycle was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. The immunolocalization of SMNF-YA showed the presence of this factor in a parenchymal cell population of cercariae and adult worms and in embryos within eggs. The expression of SMNF-YA was demonstrated to decrease in maturating spermatozoites whereas an accumulation of this factor was observed in the nucleus from oocytes during their maturation processes.

Autophagy process in Toxoplasma gondii plays a vital role in regulating parasite survival or death. Thus, once having an understanding of certain effects of autophagy on the transformation of tachyzoite to bradyzoite this will allow us to elucidate the function of autophagy during parasite development. Herein, we used three TgAtg proteins involved in Atg8 conjugation system, TgAtg3, TgAtg7 and TgAtg8 to evaluate the autophagy level in tachyzoite and bradyzoite of Toxoplasma in vitro based on Pru TgAtg7-HA transgenic strains. We showed that both TgAtg3 and TgAtg8 were expressed at a significantly lower level in bradyzoites than in tachyzoites. Importantly, the number of parasites containing fluorescence-labelled TgAtg8 puncta was significantly reduced in bradyzoites than in tachyzoites, suggesting that autophagy is downregulated in Toxoplasma bradyzoite in vitro. Moreover, after treatment with drugs, bradyzoite-specific gene BAG1 levels decreased significantly in rapamycin-treated bradyzoites and increased significantly in 3-MA-treated bradyzoites in comparison with control bradyzoites, indicating that Toxoplasma autophagy is involved in the transformation of tachyzoite to bradyzoite in vitro. Together, it is suggested that autophagy may serve as a potential strategy to regulate the transformation.

Bibliometric methods were used to analyse the major research trends, themes and topics over the last 30 years in the parasitology discipline. The tools used were SciMAT, VOSviewer and SWIFT-Review in conjunction with the parasitology literature contained in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions databases. The analyses show that the major research themes are dynamic and continually changing with time, although some themes identified based on keywords such as malaria, nematode, epidemiology and phylogeny are consistently referenced over time. We note the major impact of countries like Brazil has had on the literature of parasitology research. The increase in recent times of research productivity on ‘antiparasitics’ is discussed, as well as the change in emphasis on different antiparasitic drugs and insecticides over time. In summary, innovation in parasitology is global, extensive, multidisciplinary, constantly evolving and closely aligned with the availability of technology.

A new species of the giant phyllobothriid genus Dinobothrium (D. keilini n.sp.) is described from the blue shark (Carcharinus glaucus); it is compared with D. planum Linton, found for the first time from British waters, in the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), and the structure of both is discussed in relation to that of the genotype, D. septaria van Beneden. A fourth species, D. paciferum n.sp., also from the basking shark, is described, and though only a tenth the size of the other species, it shares most of their diagnostic scolex characters. It has eight true suckers above the four pendent bothria: in D. planum there are four true suckers and four pseudo-suckers, while in D. keilini there are only four true suckers, and D. septaria is said to have four pseudo-suckers alone. The nomenclature of the older species is revised, and the genus redefined.

Attention is directed to the adaptations in these large cestodes which facilitate interchange with the substratum: the development of lateral furrows through which the main excretory canals open to the exterior. There is also a ventral furrow, which in the nascent segments is an open cleft: this accommodates the growing uterus and permits a protracted gravid phase of the proglottides in situ. The effect is of five longitudinal hinges, which allow of considerable lateral expansion of the thick-walled strobilus. The smaller D. paciferum lacks these modifications, and the cylindrical segments are apparently detached in the gravid state. An explanation is offered for the conflicting accounts of the lateral extent of the vitellaria in this genus: there is a lateral contraction of the ventral vitelline reticulum as the ovarian phase waxes. In D. paciferum the vitellaria completely encircle the proglottis at the inception of the ovarian phase.

Notes are given on the selachiàn hosts examined, their food and the other parasites present. The relationships of Dinobothrium to other phyllobothriid genera and to Tetrabothrius are discussed.

In one electric ray, Torpedo nobiliana, a single immature strobilus of another kind of phyllobothriid was found; it is probably a new species of Monorygma, though it has slight resemblances to Calyptrobothrium—a genus characteristic of electric rays. The boat-shaped bothria are held at an angle from the scolex by contractile buttress-like wings, and at their proximal end there is a relatively large and complex sucker. Affinities with related genera are discussed and the nomenclature of Monorygma angusta (Linton) is emended.

There is still so much confusion with regard to the minute hexapod mites which have for ages plagued man in various parts of the world, and which are known popularly as harvest bugs, harvest mites, bête rouge, rouget, chigger mites, etc., that a review of our present knowledge of the matter may be of use in saving investigators' time in referring to a voluminous and widely scattered literature.

Linnaeus (1747) described and figured (reproduced in Fig. 1) a parasitic Copepod from the gills of a Gadus, which he designated Lernaea cauda duplici tereti, and defined in these words: Thorax seu corpus molle, album, subrotundum, convexum, carnosum; antice obtusum, seu potius retusum, latere utroque notatum, denticulo molle antrorsum spectante. Collum tenue longiusculum, caput trilobum dilatatum; lobo intermedio obverse eordato. Cauda pone thoracem ex duobus corpusoulis pallidis longitudine thoracis. Brachia sub thorace, ad latera colli utrinque duo, quorum pars exterius bilobum, interius ovatum.

1. Experiments upon Xenopsylla cheopis Roths. are described which were carried out to discover if feeding influenced duration of life or had any effect upon the survival of the sexes or upon the relationship between duration of life and saturation deficiency of the atmosphere.

2. Fleas fed once before starvation lived longer than unfed fleas. There was no difference between survival of the sexes and no direct proportion between survival times and saturation deficiency.

3. Fleas kept with the host for 7 days before starvation lived still longer. Females lived considerably longer than males, but there was still no direct proportion between survival times and saturation deficiency.

Larval Schistosoma mansoni have been shown to induce morphological changes to the internal calcium reserves (in particular the calcareous inclusions in Type A calcium cells and to the inner, nacreous layer of the shell) of Biomphalaria glabrata within 48 h of miracidial penetration. Control experiments have shown that these changes were not due to either the experimental procedures used, mechanical damage or to starvation effects. The effects were, however, analogous to experimentally induced acidosis, suggesting that the rapidly transforming miracidium-sporocyst quickly induces changes in the host's metabolism, presumably by the production and release of CO2 and waste metabolites into the haemolymph.

[This paper is the final report on the Diptera collected by the Percy Sladen Trust Expedition under Professor J. Stanley Gardiner, F.R.S., in the Seychelles and other islands of the Western Indian Ocean in 1905 and 1908–9. Many reports on the insects collected have appeared in the special series of volumes devoted to that Expedition, Tr. Linn. Soc.London, ser. 2 (Zool.), xii–xviii (from 1907 onwards), but it has not been possible to include all the entomological contributions in that series. I am greatly indebted to the Editor of Parasitology for accepting the present work, which was offered for publication in this journal as it deals with a number of parasitic forms—Bombyliidae, Sarcophaginae, Tachininae, etc. A list of all the other reports on Diptera collected by this Expedition, with full references, is given in Ent. Monthly Mag., 58, 1922, p. 184.

Host suitability, reproduction, effects of temperature on reproduction and pupal development, effects of humidity on pupal development and the effects of photoperoid on puparial deposition, pupal development and adult emergence were studied in a laboratory colony of Pseudolynchia canariensis. Flies were observed to lack strong host specificity. Puparia were produced at regular 24 h intervals by flies maintained at 30 °C, averaging 8·8 puparia per female. Optimum temperature for colony maintenance was observed to range between 26·6 and 30·0 °C. Temperatures of 13 and 37 °C were lethal to pupae. Humidity and photoperiod did not markedly affect pupal development. Puparial deposition and adult emergence occurred only during the photoperiod.

The species herein described both belong to the family Menoponidae. One of these species, collected by me from a Waxbill (a passerine bird) at Onderstepoort, Pretoria, belongs to the genus Machaerilaemus Harrison, the other, taken from a Sandgrouse in the Rustenburg District, Transvaal, by Mr Powell, together with specimens of a species of Degeeriella, I am placing in a new genus, for which I propose the name Neomenopon. These two new species are extremely interesting, in that they both possess a chitinous framework extending backwards from the anterior margin of the head for the support of the mandibles, a structure previously only known to occur in the genus Eomenopon Harrison, which was established partly on account of this structure. A similar structure, however, also occurs in a small unidentified species of Menopon taken from a Little Banded Goshawk (Astur polyzonoides) at Onderstepoort. This species may eventually prove to be sufficiently distinct in other details from the type of Menopon to warrant the founding of a new genus for its reception.

1. A plerocercoid of ‘Acanthotaenia’ has been found in large numbers in ‘cysts’ in the pancreas of Rana occipitalis (Günther) in Ghana.

2. ‘Cysts’ containing plerocercoids were fed to Varanus niloticus (L.). Adults of Proteocephalus niloticus (Beddard) were recovered from the intestine 3 weeks later.

3. It is suggested that the life cycle involves three hosts, the first being a copepod.

4. The morphology of the larva and adult is described.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the authorities of the University of Ghana for inviting me to spend some time in the Zoology Department there. I am most grateful, also, to Professor R. D. Purchon for his kindly interest and for the facilities which he placed at my disposal. It is a pleasure to thank Dr J. D. Thomas and the technical staff for their assistance in the collection of material.

The enemy release hypothesis proposes that in parasite depleted habitats, populations will experience relaxed selection and become more susceptible (or less tolerant) to pathogenic infections. Here, we focus on a population of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) that are found in an extreme environment (the Pitch Lake, Trinidad) and examine whether this habitat represents a refuge from parasites. We investigated the efficacy of pitch in preventing microbial infections in Pitch Lake guppies, by exposing them to dechlorinated water, and reducing gyrodactylid infections on non-Pitch Lake guppies by transferring them to Pitch Lake water. We show that (i) natural prevalence of ectoparasites in the Pitch Lake is low compared to reference populations, (ii) Pitch Lake guppies transferred into aquarium water develop microbial infections, and (iii) experimentally infected guppies are cured of their gyrodactylid infections both by natural Pitch Lake water and by dechlorinated water containing solid pitch. These results indicate a role for Pitch Lake water in the defence of guppies from their parasites and suggest that Pitch Lake guppies might have undergone enemy release in this extreme environment. The Pitch Lake provides an ideal ecosystem for studies on immune gene evolution in the absence of parasites and long-term evolutionary implications of hydrocarbon pollution for vertebrates.

Syphacia stroma (von Linstow, 1884) Morgan, 1932 and Syphacia frederici Roman, 1945 are oxyurid nematodes that parasitize two murid rodents, Apodemus sylvaticus and Apodemus flavicollis, on the European mainland. Only S. stroma has been recorded previously in Apodemus spp. from the British Isles. Despite the paucity of earlier reports, we identified S. frederici in four disparate British sites, two in Nottinghamshire, one each in Berkshire and Anglesey, Wales. Identification was based on their site in the host (caecum and not small intestine), on key morphological criteria that differentiate this species from S. stroma (in particular the tail of female worms) and by sequencing two genetic loci (cytochrome C oxidase 1 gene and a section of ribosomal DNA). Sequences derived from both genetic loci of putative British S. frederici isolates formed a tight clade with sequences from continental worms known to be S. frederici, clearly distinguishing these isolates from S. stroma which formed a tight clade of its own, distinct from clades representative of Syphacia obvelata from Mus and S. muris from Rattus. The data in this paper therefore constitute the first record of S. frederici from British wood mice, and confirm the status of this species as distinct from both S. obvelata and S. stroma.

The ultrastructure of the body wall of the third-stage larva of Haemonckus placei was studied. The cuticle was found to consist of eight layers: a thin outer layer, a membrane-bounded layer, an electron-dense layer, a thin irregular layer, an inner cortical layer, a matrix layer, a striated layer and a fibril layer. Interposed between the inner cortex and matrix were two transverse fibres.

The region between the fibril layers and the contractile part of the muscle cells was occupied by the hypodermis, which enlarged to form the dorsal, ventral and lateral cords. Within the cords lay hypodermal cells, nerves, crystalline inclusions and an excretory canal.

The sarcoplasmic part of the muscle cells was rich in glycogen and contained numerous mitochondria. Myofibrils of two types were present in the contractile part of the cell.

I am grateful to Dr D. W. Brocklesby for his help and advice and to Mr E. Harness for the production and supply of third-stage larvae. I would also like to thank Dr D. L. Lee and Mr W. G. MacMillan for helpful discussions.

The formation of a cocoon or of a more or less solid case by a larva before its transformation into a pupa, occurs very seldom in cyclorhaphous Diptera. This is due undoubtedly to the existence in all these Diptera of a puparium formed by the contracted and hardened last larval skin, in which, as in a cocoon, is contained and hardened last larval skin, in which, as in a cocoon, is contained the real pupa or chrysalis of the fly.