Some effects of the diet of mice on Nematospiroides dubius (Nematoda)

Abstract

The establishment of N. dubius juveniles was more successful in mice maintained on a diet inadequate to support the full growth potential of the animals than in mice maintained on an adequate diet. The distribution of encysted juveniles along the duodenum was considerably more extensive in the former group of mice.More juveniles were established in male than in female mice within the respective dietary groups, although the pattern of distribution was similar.The distribution of adult nematodes at 10 days after infection was confined to a smaller area of the duodenum than that of the encysted juveniles at 5 days.The differences in distribution of nematodes after 5 and 10 days between the HP and LP mice was not evident after 21 days. The survival of adult nematodes in the HP mice was more successful than in the LP animals.The female nematodes in the LP mice achieved a greater length but were less prolific egg producers than those in the HP mice.A diet inadequate to support the full growth potential of mice was therefore associated with the increased ability of Nematospiroides dubius juveniles to establish themselves in mice compared with the situation in adequately fed animals. The low plane diet, on the other hand, was associated with a decreased ability of the adult nematodes to survive.This work was supported by grants from the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan and the Australian Wool Board. I should like to express my appreciation for the supervision of this work by Professor J. F. A. Sprent and to thank Miss Sharon McFeeter and Mrs Anne McKeown for their most competent technical assistance.