Apicomplexans in small mammals from Chile, with the first report of the Babesia microti group in South American rodents

Santodomingo, Adriana; Thomas, Richard; Nespolo, Roberto F.; Echeverry, Diana; Fuente, María Carolina Silva-de la; Moreno, Lucila; Muñoz-Léal, Sebastián

doi:10.1007/s00436-022-07452-4

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Extraintestinal stages of Sarcocystidae have been found in Thylamys spp. opossums in northern Chile (Santodomingo et al, 2022). However, to the best authors' knowledge, Sarcocystis sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Gastrointestinal parasites in wild rodents in Chiloé Island-Chile

Carrera-Játiva

Torres

Figueroa-Sandoval

et al. 2023

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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Gastrointestinal parasites are well-documented in small mammals from north-central Chile, but little is known about endoparasites of rodents in southern Chile. A survey was conducted between January and February 2018 to evaluate gastrointestinal parasites and risk factors of wild rodents that live in rural areas in Northern Chiloé Island, Chile. A total of 174 fecal samples from rodents of six native and one introduced species were collected and examined using the Mini-FLOTAC method. Also, 41 individuals of four native wild rodent species were examined furtherly to determinate adult parasites from gastrointestinal tracts. The overall prevalence of endoparasites was 89.65% (156). Helminth egg types included: Rodentolepis spp., Capillariidae, Trichuris sp., Syphacia sp., oxyurid-type eggs, Strongyloides sp., Spirurid-type eggs, Strongilid-type eggs, Moniliformis sp., and an unidentified nematode egg and larvae. Protozoa comprised coccidia, amoeba, and unidentified cysts. From necropsies, adult parasites involved Syphacia sp. Trichuris sp., Protospirura sp. and Physaloptera sp. In Abrothrix olivacea, individuals with low-body-mass index exhibited reduced infection probability for Spirurid-type and Strongilid-type eggs. Some parasites in this study may affect human health. In rural settings where environmental conditions are changing, more research should be undertaken to understand parasitic infections in wildlife and implications for public health and conservation.

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“…Extraintestinal stages of Sarcocystidae have been found in Thylamys spp. opossums in northern Chile (Santodomingo et al, 2022). However, to the best authors' knowledge, Sarcocystis sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Gastrointestinal parasites in wild rodents in Chiloé Island-Chile

Carrera-Játiva

Torres

Figueroa-Sandoval

et al. 2023

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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“…less than 800 bp) that were excluded from our phylogenetic analyses, because small sequences can alter the tree topology for this locus (Barbosa et al., 2019). In Chile, DNA of Babesia has been previously detected in domestic dogs (di Cataldo et al., 2020) and wild rodents ( Phyllotis darwini , Abrothrix jelskii ) (Santodomingo et al., 2022). Moreover, antibodies against Babesia were reported in Andean foxes ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) (di Cataldo et al., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A great number of tick species are cosmopolitan vectors of infectious microorganisms that impact economically because they cause disease in humans and animals, especially in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere (Boulanger et al., 2019). In particular, tick‐borne piroplasmids of the genus Babesia and Borrelia spirochetes are emerging in South America, as recent discoveries gradually uncover their diversity (Ikeda et al., 2021; Muñoz‐Leal et al., 2020; Santodomingo et al., 2022; Weck et al., 2022). To recognize tick‐borne diseases of wild threatened animals is important from a conservation viewpoint, since pathogens can exacerbate under stressful situations (Mathieu et al., 2018; Penzhorn, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, a fifth group associated with South American micro‐mammals (i.e. rodents and bats) has been recently proposed (Ikeda et al., 2021; Santodomingo et al., 2022). Some Babesia spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, stressors such as concurrent disease, poor nutrition, rutting season, calving, high population density and transportation of captive wild animals may lead to fatal infections in wild species (Mathieu et al., 2018; Penzhorn, 2006). The diversity of piroplasmids expands mainly because of the use of genetic tools for their identification (Barbosa et al., 2019; Greay et al., 2018; Hrazdilová et al., 2020; Ikeda et al., 2021; Santodomingo et al., 2022), and because the search for these parasites includes nowadays a growing number of previously unexplored wildlife species (Schnittger et al., 2022). From a genetic viewpoint, the use of nuclear (18S rRNA) and mitochondrial (COI) loci is considered of enough resolution to infer deep phylogenetic relationships (Schnittger et al., 2012, 2022) and to separate closely related taxa (Hrazdilová et al., 2020; Schreeg et al., 2016) within the genus Babesia , respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A search for piroplasmids and spirochetes in threatened pudu ( Pudu puda ) and associated ticks from Southern Chile unveils a novel Babesia sp. and a variant of Borrelia chilensis

Santodomingo

Robbiano

Thomas

et al. 2022

Transbounding Emerging Dis

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Cervids are important hosts for ticks and although they are refractory to some tick‐borne agents such as Borrelia, they do act as reservoirs for others such as Babesia. Babesia and Borrelia are commonly transmitted by Ixodes spp. associated with deer, and most of the knowledge on their biological cycles comes from northern latitudes of the globe. In this study, we performed genetic screenings to detect tick‐borne agents in blood and Ixodes stilesi ticks collected from an insular population of threatened pudu (Pudu puda), a pygmy deer species that inhabits temperate rainforests of southern South America. Inferred by phylogenetic analyses for 18S rRNA, COI and cytb genes, our results unveiled a novel genospecies of Babesia (Babesia sp. pudui) genetically related to Babesia odocoilei, a species that infects Odocoileus virginianus deer in North America. Although blood of the deer was negative for Borrelia infection, multilocus sequencing typing performed in one I. stilesi tick revealed the occurrence of a novel genetic variant of Borrelia chilensis, differing 0.93% and 0.18% in flaB and pepX genes with the type of strain for the species, respectively. Such a genetic divergence could be the result of thousands of years of isolation because of recent glaciation events that separated pudus and their tick populations at Chiloé Island approximately 437,000 years ago. The finding of a Babesia sp. has no precedents for wild and domestic ungulates in Chile and shows a novel piroplasmid that must be considered now on in rehabilitation centres and zoos that attend pudu deer. Further research is now necessary to confirm pathogenic roles.

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