Current research on Sarcocystis species of domestic animals.

The genus Sarcocystis is composed of about 130 species of heteroxenous cyst-forming coccidia with differences in life cycle and pathogenicity. Pathogenic Sarcocystis spp. can cause disease in their intermediate hosts, in particular in ruminants. Research on Sarcocystis infections has been impeded by several facets of the parasites. Intermediate as well as definitive hosts can be parasitized by several different species with similarities in biology and morphology. Antigen preparations derived from pathogenic Sarcocystis spp. are highly cross-reactive with antibodies directed against non-pathogenic species. As a consequence, none of the currently available immunological tests is species-specific and can differentiate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic Sarcocystis spp. Over the last decade, new techniques in immunology, protein chemistry and molecular biology have facilitated more advanced studies on the molecular composition and molecular biology of Sarcocystis spp. in various laboratories. The development of species-specific monoclonal antibodies and analyses of the molecular composition of some life-cycle stages of Sarcocystis spp. of cattle and sheep showed that species-specific proteins and antigens exist in these species, although they are not highly abundant. In addition, comparisons of rRNA genes of different Sarcocystis spp. identified unique sequences in the rRNA of pathogenic Sarcocystis spp. that are suitable targets for species-specific identification. Thus, tools have become available that facilitate the development of methods for species-specific identification and differentiation of Sarcocystis spp. as well as the identification and study of molecules that are associated with pathogenicity of some of these parasites.