First Molecular Detection of Polychromophilus Parasites in Brazilian Bat Species

Author(s)

Minozzo, Guilherme Augusto ^[1] ; da Silva Mathias, Bruno ^[2] ; Riediger, Irina Nastassja ^[1] ; de Oliveira Guimaraes, Lilian ^[3] ; dos Anjos, Carolina Clares ^[2] ; Monteiro, Eliana Ferreira ^[2] ; dos Santos, Andrea Pires ^[4] ; Biondo, Alexander Welker ^[5] ; Kirchgatter, Karin ^{[2, 3]}

Affiliation

^[1] Lab Cent Saude Publ Parana, BR-83060500 Sao Jose Dos Pinhais, PR - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Inst Med Trop, Programa Posgrad Med Trop, BR-05403000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Superintendencia Controle Endemias Estado Sao Paul, Lab Bioquim Biol Mol, BR-01027000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Purdue Univ, Dept Comparat Pathobiol, W Lafayette, IN 47907 - USA

^[5] Univ Fed Parana, Dept Med Vet, BR-80035050 Curitiba, Parana - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MICROORGANISMS; v. 9, n. 6 JUN 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Blood parasites of the Haemosporida order, such as the Plasmodium spp. responsible for malaria, have become the focus of many studies in evolutionary biology. However, there is a lack of molecular investigation of haemosporidian parasites of wildlife, such as the genus Polychromophilus. Species of this neglected genus exclusively have been described in bats, mainly in Europe, Asia, and Africa, but little is known about its presence and genetic diversity on the American continent. Here, we investigated 406 bats from sites inserted in remnant fragments of the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes and urbanized areas from southern Brazil for the presence of Polychromophilus species by PCR of the mitochondrial cytochrome b encoding gene. A total of 1.2% of bats was positive for Polychromophilus, providing the first molecular information of these parasites in Myotis riparius and Eptesicus diminutus, common vespertilionid bats widely distributed in different Brazilian biomes, and Myotis ruber, an endangered species. A Bayesian analysis was conducted to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships between Polychromophilus recovered from Brazilian bats and those identified elsewhere. Sequences of Brazilian Polychromophilus lineages were placed with P. murinus and in a clade distinct from P. melanipherus, mainly restricted to bats in the family Vespertilionidae. However, the sequences were split into two minor clades, according to the genus of hosts, indicating that P. murinus and a distinct species may be circulating in Brazil. Morphological observations combined with additional molecular studies are needed to conclude and describe these Polychromophilus species. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/50345-5 - Institutional development plan in research and technology for vector surveillance and control of the Superintendência do Controle de Endemias - SUCEN (PDIp)
• Grantee: Vera Lucia Fonseca de Camargo Neves
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - State Research Institutes Modernization Program
• FAPESP's process: 18/16232-1 - Haemosporidian parasites and emerging arbovirus in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Zoological Park of São Paulo
• Grantee: Lilian de Oliveira Guimarães
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral