In a survey study on the macroscopic species of Sarcocystis infecting domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and cattle (Bos taurus) in Egypt, the macrosarcocysts of Sarcocystis gigantea and Sarcocystis medusiformis were detected in the carcasses of 33 domestic sheep out of a total of 250 (13.20%), whereas Sarcocystis hirsuta macrosarcocysts were found in 17 out of 150 cattle (11.33%) slaughtered at the municipal abattoirs of two different provinces in Egypt. The sarcocysts of each species were thoroughly described morphologically through gross inspection, histopathologic and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination. By TEM, S. gigantea primary cyst wall was 6–7.5 μm thick and had irregular highly branched cauliflower-like villar protrusions (VP).The VP contained microtubules (mt) and multiple electron dense granules (edg) that were dispersed inside the cores of the branched VP. Besides, the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM) had minute blister-like invaginations all over the entire surface of the sarcocyst. S. medusiformis cyst had a thin sarcocyst wall (~2 μm thick) as compared to that of S. gigantea. The cyst wall had trapezoidal or nearly pyramidal VP that were surrounded by thick PVM in addition to a ground substance GS that contained electron-dense fine particles. S. hirsuta sarcocyst wall was 7–9 μm thick and possessed rhomboid-shaped VP that contained microtubules (mt) and electron-dense granules (edg) of variable sizes. The edg were arranged in rows and running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the protrusions. The VP had characteristic narrow neck-like constrictions at their bases, dilated middle portions, and tapered distal ends. The detected macrosarcocysts were eventually confirmed by molecular characterization on the levels of 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and Cox1 sequences. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the 18S rRNA and Cox1 genetic markers gave rise to robust associations of the currently identified isolates of S. gigantea, S. medusiformis, and S. hirsuta within a major clade of Sarcocystis species with felines as presumed or known definitive hosts.

在对宏观物质的调查研究肉孢子虫感染国内羊（绵羊白羊座）和牛（普通牛）在埃及的macrosarcocysts肉孢子虫巨和肉孢子虫medusiformis在33家绵羊的尸体在总共250（未检测13.20％），而肉孢子毛在埃及两个不同的省份的市政屠宰场屠宰17总分150牛（11.33％）被发现macrosarcocysts。通过肉眼检查，组织病理学和透射电镜（TEM）检查，对每个物种的卵囊进行了形态学上的彻底描述。通过TEM，S. gigantea原发性囊肿壁厚6-7.5μm，具有不规则的高度分支的菜花状比勒突起（VP）。VP包含分散在分支VP核内的微管（mt）和多个电子致密颗粒（edg）。此外，寄生虫的液泡膜（PVM）在整个胞囊表面上都有微小的水泡样内陷。S. medusiformis囊肿有薄sarcocyst壁（〜2微米厚）相比于的S.巨。囊壁除了含有含有电子致密微粒的地面物质GS外，还具有梯形VP或近锥体VP，并被厚厚的PVM包围。hirsuta囊肿壁厚7–9μm，具有菱形的VP，其中包含大小不等的微管（mt）和电子致密颗粒（edg）。毛边成排排列并平行于突起的纵轴延伸。VP的底部，扩张的中间部分和远端呈锥形，具有狭窄的颈状收缩特征。最终通过分子鉴定18S rRNA，28S rRNA和Cox1序列的水平来确认检测到的大卵囊肿。基于18S rRNA序列的系统发育分析和COX1遗传标记给人们带来的目前鉴定的分离的稳健协会S.巨，S. medusiformis和S.毛的一个主要分支内肉孢子虫物种的猫科动物的推测或已知的最终宿主。