Authors

Discussion

Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) and rumen fluke (Calicophoron daubneyi) are endemic in the UK. Liver fluke is estimated to cost the UK agriculture industry approximately £300 million per year, particularly due to lamb deaths and liver condemnations. Rumen fluke is fatal in severe infections and only one flukicide, oxyclozanide, has been shown to effectively reduce rumen fluke burdens. The desirable potency of triclabendazole has stimulated its overuse for liver fluke control resulting in widespread anthelmintic resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new control strategies for fasciolosis.

The microbiome is defined as the combined genetic material of the microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment. A host’s microbiome is known to play a key role in many aspects of health and disease, including susceptibility to parasitic infection. While most microbiome studies have focused on the mammalian hosts of helminths, their intermediate hosts should also be considered. Recent research of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia shows they cannot transmit dengue fever. As a result, efforts to control dengue fever are being focused on bacterial symbionts that can aid disease elimination. The interaction between the snail microbiome and life stages of parasitic trematodes residing in their intermediate hosts has not been investigated to any large extent.

This project is in its earliest phase. We aim to profile the microbiome of snail species harbouring active helminth infections. We will compare host stress markers, and investigate the role played by bacterial symbionts. Finally, the functional roles played by snail microbiota will be considered using classical microbiological methods.