Angiostrongylus minasensis n. sp.: new species found parasitizing coatis (Nasua nasua) in an urban protected area in Brazil

Abstract

Currently, there are 21 species of Angiostrongylus that parasitize the pulmonary or mesenteric arteries of wild and domestic rodents, felids, canids and human. Species of Angiostrongylus have cosmopolitan distribution covering tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The procyonid Nasua nasua (coati) is a reservoir host for a wide variety of parasites that may be harmful to its populations or may contain etiological agents with zoonotic potential. In urban areas, coatis are usually found in close association with humans and domestic animals. We morphologically and molecularly characterized a new species of Angiostrongylus found in N. nasua in a protected area within Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The new species of Angiostrongylus differs from other species of the same genus in terms of the length and bifurcation level of the lateral and ventral rays, the length of spicules and female tail morphology. Molecular phylogenetic results based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene suggest that the newly identified species belongs to a genetic lineage that is separate from other species of Angiostrongylus. This new species was collected from the mesenteric arteries of N. nasua. It was named Angiostrongylus minasensis n. sp..

Clostridioides difficile and multi-drug-resistant staphylococci in free-living rodents and marsupials in parks of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

“…1). Previous studies on C. difficile, Vaccinia virus, and different ectoparasites and endoparasites in free-living South American coatis (Nasua nasua) have been performed in park 2 [16][17][18][19]. In park 1, currently only one study on the abundance and diversity of amphibians has been conducted [20].…”

Abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas: fifty years since the discovery of a new metastrongylid species, Angiostrongylus costaricensis

“…Other vertebrate species, such as domestic dogs [ 54 ] and white-nosed coatis ( Nasua narica ) [ 55 , 56 ] from Costa Rica, have been reported as potential reservoirs of the parasite based on the finding of A. costaricensis -like specimens in feces and mesenteric arteries that exhibited high sequence similarity to A. costaricensis (99–100%). However, Angiostrongylus minascensis , a newly described species found in Nasua nasua from Brazil, was 100% identical to the specimens obtained from Costa Rican coatis [ 57 ]. Altogether, these analyses suggest that wild hosts might harbor separate Angiostrongylus spp., and the diversity of the genus Angiostrongylus is likely to be greater than currently reported (Table 1 ).…”

In the Dawn of an Early Invasion: No Genetic Diversity of <em>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</em> in Ecuador?

“…Furthermore, they have been applied to explore systematic and population genetic aspects of Angiostrongylus taxa, since there is great variability within populations [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. The use of mitochondrial genes, such as cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (MT-CO1), as molecular markers for specific identification of the parasite has been efficient [32][33][34][35]. The MT-CO1 gene has been used in studies on phylogeny, phylogeography, and haplotype identification [36][37][38][39].…”