Molecular detection of Anaplasmataceae agents in Dasyprocta azarae in northeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Costa de Oliveira Braga, Maria do Socorro ; Pereira, Jose Gomes ; Fernandes, Simone de Jesus ; Lopes Marques, Ingrid Carolinne ; de Jesus, Renata Passos ; Ferreira, Gleycianny Santos ; Xavier, Daniele Rosa ; Benevenute, Jyan Lucas ; Machado, Rosangela Zacarias ; Andre, Marcos Rogerio

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE PARASITOLOGIA VETERINARIA; v. 27, n. 1, p. 7-pg., 2018-01-01.

Abstract

Recently, the importance of wild-living rodents for maintenance of pathogens of the family Anaplasmataceae in the environment was investigated. These mammals play a role as reservoirs for these pathogens and act as hosts for the immature stages of tick vectors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Ehrlichia sp. and Anaplasma sp. in 24 specimens of Azara's agouti (Dasyprocta azarae) that had been trapped in the Itapiraco Environmental Reserve, in Sao Luis, Maranhao, northeastern Brazil, using molecular methods. Four animals (16.7%) were positive for Ehrlichia spp. in nested PCR assays based on the 16S rRNA gene. In a phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene, using the maximum likelihood method and the GTRGAMMA+I evolutionary model, Ehrlichia sp. genotypes detected in Azara's agoutis were found to be closely related to E. canis and to genotypes relating to E. canis that had previously been detected in free-living animals in Brazil. The present work showed the first molecular detection of Ehrlichia sp. in Azara's agoutis in Brazil. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/14896-1 - Molecular detection and characterization of agents belonging to Anaplasmataceae e Bartonellaceae family in wild animals and ectoparasites in Brazil
• Grantee: Marcos Rogério André
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants