Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Robson Cavalcanti Ferreira
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) |
| Defense date: | 2007-08-09 |
| Examining board members: |
Marta Maria Geraldes Teixeira;
Erney Felicio Plessmann de Camargo;
Carlos Alberto Goncalves Silva Jared;
Cristina Yumi Miyaki;
Miguel Trefaut Urbano Rodrigues
|
| Advisor: | Marta Maria Geraldes Teixeira |
| Abstract | |
Amphibians of the order Anura have long been known to be infected with trypanosomes worldwide, infecting frogs and toads and transmitted by leeches and insects. No surveys were carried out in South American anurans. Traditional taxonomy renders unreliable identification of these trypanosomes, genetic diversity was poorly investigated and phylogenetic relationships are far from be understood. In this study, we showed high prevalence and marked morphological and molecular diversity among trypanosomes from several species from Amazonia, Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. Phylogenetic relationships inferred among trypanosomes from Brazil, North America, Europe and Africa disclosed 5 major clades of anuran isolates. One clade contains anuran and sand fly isolates, suggesting that these insects can be vectors of anuran trypanosomes. In general, data showed a certain degree of association between clades of isolates and anuran phylogeography and suggested that host switching and ecological fitting also play a role in the evolutionary history of these trypanosomes. (AU) | |