{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,15]],"date-time":"2026-08-15T03:19:58Z","timestamp":1786763998163,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"EDP Sciences","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]],"date-time":"2025-02-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740096000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":51,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100024095","name":"Gamtos tyrim\u0173 centras","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100024095","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Parasite"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,30]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025]]},"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> species are cosmopolitan and prevalent avian parasites, with some infections being lethal, mainly due to the exo-erythrocytic development of the parasite in bird tissues. The patterns of exo-erythrocytic development in <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> spp. infections in wild birds remain poorly studied. This study investigated the development of <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> spp. tissue stages in tits (Paridae). Great tits (<jats:italic>Parus major<\/jats:italic>), Blue tits (<jats:italic>Cyanistes caeruleus<\/jats:italic>), and Coal tits (<jats:italic>Periparus ater<\/jats:italic>) were screened for infections using an integrative approach that consisted of microscopic analysis of thin blood smears, histological techniques, chromogenic <jats:italic>in situ<\/jats:italic> hybridization (CISH), PCR-based methods, and phylogenetic analysis. In total, 41 individuals were analyzed (eight naturally infected that were selected and euthanized, and 33 found dead in the wild and opportunistically sampled). Among the naturally infected birds, all individuals that were microscopically positive for <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> species were also PCR-positive for these parasites. Co-infections with <jats:italic>Plasmodium<\/jats:italic> spp. and <jats:italic>Haemoproteus<\/jats:italic> spp. were commonly found, mainly among the opportunistically sampled birds. Two morphotypes were identified, <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon majoris<\/jats:italic> (Laveran, 1902) and <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon fringillinarum<\/jats:italic> Woodcock, 1910. Tissue stages were present in three birds sampled exclusively during the non-breeding season, two of them with meronts developing in the kidneys and liver, and one individual with a megalomeront in the heart. All the exo-erythrocytic stages were confirmed to be <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> spp. by CISH using a <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> genus-specific probe. Phylogenetic analysis placed parasite lineages with different morphotypes in separate clades. The developmental patterns of exo-erythrocytic stages of <jats:italic>Leucocytozoon<\/jats:italic> spp. in naturally infected passerines are poorly understood, requiring further research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1051\/parasite\/2025007","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]],"date-time":"2025-02-21T08:53:25Z","timestamp":1740128005000},"page":"13","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["<i>Leucocytozoon<\/i> infections in tits (Aves, Paridae): blood and tissue stages investigated using an integrative approach"],"prefix":"10.1051","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7695-6402","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Germ\u00e1n 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