Molecular detection of Hepatozoon sp. in domestics cats in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rondônia

• Grant number: 20/12773-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2021
• End date: December 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Rogério André
• Grantee: Isabela de Andrade
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Feline hepatozoonosis is an infection that affects wild and domestic cats and is caused by protozoans belonging to the genus Hepatozoon sp.. Little is known about the prevalence and genetic diversity of Hepatozoon species that occur in cats from Brazil, as well as the vectors involved in the transmission cycles. Clinical signs are nonspecific, with an increase in the enzymes lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) that are suggestives of muscle damage. The presence of clinical signs in the infection by Hepatozoon spp. has been usually been associated with comorbidities. The present study aims to investigate the presence and characterize the DNA of Hepatozoon in blood samples from domestic cats sampled in the cities of Araguari and Uberlândia, in the state of Minas Gerais, in the city of Jaboticabal, in the state of São Paulo, and in the city of Rolim de Moura, state of Rondônia. Between August and September 2018, blood samples were collected from 390 domestic cats (88 from Uberlândia, 67 from Araguari, 151 from Jaboticabal and 84 from Rolim de Moura). Blood samples will be submitted to DNA extraction and conventional PCR assays for the endogenous mammalian gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh) and positive samples will be subjected to nPCR assays for Hepatozoon based on the 18S rRNA gene. Positive samples will be purified and sequenced by the Sanger method. The obtained sequences will be submitted to phylogenetic inferences to position them within an evolutionary relationship with Hepatozoon species detected in Brazil and other parts of the world. Additionally, analysis of diversity, haplotype network and Splistree distance analysis will also be performed. The present work will contribute to the understanding of the genetic diversity of Hepatozoon in felines from Brazil.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; FURQUIM, MARIA EDUARDA CHIARADIA; DE ANDRADE, ISABELA; ARANTES, PAULO VITOR CADINA; DE MELO LOPES, LARA CRISTINA; DEMARCHI, IURI KAUAN LINS DO NASCIMENTO; FIGUEIREDO, MAYRA ARAGUAIA PEREIRA; DE PAULA LIMA, CIRILO ANTONIO; MACHADO, ROSANGELA ZACARIAS. Molecular Detection of Tick-Borne Agents in Cats from Southeastern and Northern Brazil. PATHOGENS, v. 11, n. 1, JAN 2022. (20/12773-8, 19/10101-5, 19/19027-2, 18/02753-0, 19/26109-5, 20/07826-5, 20/12037-0)