Standardization of a digital PCR for the detection of piroplasmida DNA in wild animals' biological samples from Brazil

• Grant number: 22/16555-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: July 10, 2023
• End date: May 09, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Rogério André
• Grantee: Ana Cláudia Calchi
• Supervisor: Edward Bealmear Breitschwerdt
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: North Carolina State University (NC State), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/07826-5 - Diversity of piroplasmids in wild mammals and birds from Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

Piroplasmids are tick-borne apicomplexan protozoa that comprise the genera Babesia, Rangelia, Cytauxzoon and Theileria. There is a wide diversity of species that affect different taxa of mammals and birds and can cause diseases in animals and humans. Recent studies aiming at detecting piroplasmids in the Brazilian fauna, which is extremely diverse, have shown that different and new species of these protozoa circulate in the country. The detection of hemoparasites in wild animals is often hampered by the low parasitemia in these animals. The digital PCR has proven to be useful to detect and quantify samples with low parasitemia. This work proposes the validation of this new technique in 270 biological samples from seven different wild animal groups (5 Xenarthra species, 5 deer species, 13 wild felid species, 3 wild canid species, 2 rodent species, 2 bats species and 7 bird species). In order to contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology and monitoring of the species that circulate in these animals, this work will allow the standardization of a more sensitive and specific technique for the detection of piroplamids in biological samples from wild animals. (AU)