{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T00:31:39Z","timestamp":1775694699044,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":79,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770595200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004504","name":"Research Council of Lithuania","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["S-MIP-23-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S-MIP-23-3"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004504","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"FCT\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia I.P.","award":["UID\/50006 + LA\/P\/0094\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/50006 + LA\/P\/0094\/2020"]}]},{"name":"PhD grant","award":["SFRH\/BD\/144437\/2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFRH\/BD\/144437\/2019"]}]},{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","award":["2021.00690.CEECIND"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021.00690.CEECIND"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sarcocystis spp. (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) are globally distributed protozoan parasites with an obligatory two-host prey\u2013predator life cycle involving intermediate (IHs) and definitive hosts (DHs). Canids, including the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), often serve as DHs for species infecting various ungulates. This study identified Sarcocystis species in red foxes from Croatia, Lithuania, and Portugal. Between 2021 and 2024, 164 faecal samples (80 from Croatia, 50 from Portugal, and 34 from Lithuania) were analysed using nested PCR targeting the cox1 gene. Twelve Sarcocystis species were detected: S. arieticanis, S. capracanis, S. capreolicanis, S. cruzi, S. gracilis, S. hjorti, S. iberica, S. linearis, S. miescheriana, S. morae, S. rossii, and S. tenella. The overall prevalence was highest in Croatia (78%) and Lithuania (62%) and lowest in Portugal (30%). Phylogenetic and haplotype analyses revealed high homogeneity and absence of geographic structuring. These results confirm the red fox as a key DH for multiple Sarcocystis species infecting European ungulates and underscore its epidemiological importance in parasite transmission across diverse ecosystems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16040538","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T14:05:15Z","timestamp":1770645915000},"page":"538","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Molecular Evidence of the Role of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in the Epidemiology of Ungulate-Related Sarcocystis Species in Croatia, Lithuania, and Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-7184-8167","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naglis","family":"Gudi\u0161kis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5115-2659","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petras","family":"Prakas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"given":"Relja","family":"Beck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Parasitology, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2623-6340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana","family":"Figueiredo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7702-1817","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Evelina","family":"Juozaityt\u0117-Ngugu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9672-5265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linas","family":"Bal\u010diauskas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2323-0135","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafael","family":"Calero-Bernal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s\/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6122-5958","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ema","family":"Gagovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Parasitology, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4570-459X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita T.","family":"Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2985-1314","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"D\u00e1rio","family":"Hip\u00f3lito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4015-8553","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Carmena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Nacional de Microbiologia, Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigaci\u00f3n en Parasitolog\u00eda, Ctra. de Pozuelo, 28, 28222 Majadahonda, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos 3-5, Pabell\u00f3n 11, Planta 0, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"given":"Vitalijus","family":"Stirk\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2892-0493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dalius","family":"Butkauskas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feng, Y., Guo, R., Sang, X., Zhang, X., Li, M., Li, X., Yang, N., and Jiang, T. (2023). A systematic meta-analysis of global Sarcocystis infection in sheep and goats. 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