First Molecular Detection of Polychromophilus Parasites in Brazilian Bat Species

Autor(es)

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]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[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

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: MICROORGANISMS; v. 9, n. 6 JUN 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

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)

• Processo FAPESP: 17/50345-5 - Plano de desenvolvimento institucional em pesquisa e tecnologia para a vigilância e controle de vetores da Superintendência de Controle de Endemias - SUCEN (PDIp)
• Beneficiário: Vera Lucia Fonseca de Camargo Neves
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa Modernização de Institutos Estaduais de Pesquisa
• Processo FAPESP: 18/16232-1 - Hemosporídeos e arbovírus emergentes em culicídeos e culicoides do Parque Zoológico de São Paulo
• Beneficiário: Lilian de Oliveira Guimarães
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado