Isolation and genotipic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii and molecular detection of protozoan from Sarcocystidae family from wildlife roadkill in adjacent areas to Cantareira State Park, SP

• Grant number: 15/00501-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2015
• End date: June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Solange Maria Gennari
• Grantee: Sérgio Netto Vitaliano
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to study epidemiological aspects of cyst-forming coccidian, Family Sarcocystidae, of medical and veterinary importance in adjacent areas from Cantareira State Park. This family is divided into three subfamilies: Sarcocystinae, Cystoisosporinae and Toxoplasmatinae, the latter being a subfamily with a few species grouped in the genera: Toxoplasma, Neospora, Hammondia, and Besnoitia. Among these coccidian, due the zoonotic importance, highlights T. gondii, responsible of one of the most common infections of mammals and birds. Although research indicates that wild animals are frequently positives for T. gondii, the role of wild life in this parasite epidemiology is not well understood, neither which genotypic profile is predominant in wildlife. Until now, there is few information regarding the characterization of the genetic profile of T. gondii from Brazilian wildlife, however recent efforts to genetically characterize T. gondii isolates from wildlife have shown that "atypical" strains are not insignificant anomalies in the population structure of this parasite, but rather important members of the gene pool found in South American populations. Urban development can cause great impact in wildlife. Studies on road kill indicate the impact of this phenomenon on biodiversity, pointing the existence of more susceptible species, besides the direct impact by decreasing population density. Thus, this project aims to perform molecular detection of parasites from Sarcocystidae family, and also isolate and genotype T. gondii obtained from the biological samples of run over wild animals. (AU)