Babesia behnkei sp. nov., a novel Babesia species infecting isolated populations of Wagner¿s gerbil, Dipodillus dasyurus, from the Sinai Mountains, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Although a number of new species of Babesia/Theileria have been described recently, there are still relatively few reports of species from Africa. In this study based on the evaluation of morphology and phylogenetic relationships, we describe a novel species from Wagner's gerbil, Babesia behnkei n. sp.Methods: Rodents (n = 1021) were sampled in four montane valleys (wadies) in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 in the Sinai Mountains, Egypt. The overall prevalence of Babesia spp. was highest in the Wagner's gerbil (Dipodillus dasyurus; 38.7%) in comparison to the prevalence in the spiny mice species, Acomys dimidiatus and A. russatus. Morphological investigations were conducted for the comparison of trophozoites of the novel species of Babesia with the B. microti King's 67 reference strain. Thirty-two isolates derived from D. dasyurus over a 9 year period (2004-2012) from two wadies (29 isolates from Wadi Gebel and 3 from Wadi El-Arbaein) were investigated by microscopic, molecular and phylogenetic analysis. A near-full-length sequence of the 18S rRNA gene and the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region were amplified, sequenced and used for the construction of phylogenetic trees.Results: A novel species of Babesia was identified in two isolated populations of D. dasyurus. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA and ITS2 sequences revealed that B. behnkei n. sp. is most closely related to B. lengau from cheetahs from South Africa and to Nearctic species found only in North America (the pathogenic B. duncani and B. conradae) and that it is more distant to the cosmopolitan rodent parasite B. microti. Trophozoites of B. behnkei were smaller and less polymorphic than trophozoites of B. microti.Conclusion: Babesia behnkei n. sp. is a novel species of the 'Duncani group' maintained in isolated populations of Dipodillus dasyurus occurring in the Sinai Mountains of Egypt.

Mitochondrial Genome Sequences and Structures Aid in the Resolution of Piroplasmida phylogeny

“…Although our analysis and others (Fig 1) suggest that this is an older lineage that diverged after the Babesia microti group, these organisms have only been recognized within the last few decades [22,78–82], and many are not yet fully understood. Originally thought to be localized in the Western United States, the discovery of Babesia lengau and lengau -like species in Africa and Europe verified that organisms in this clade are distributed worldwide [79,80,82]. Currently described vertebrate hosts include ungulates, humans, and carnivores, while tick vectors remain unknown [22,78–82].…”

Genetic and phylogenetic analysis of the ticks from the Sinai Massif, Egypt, and their possible role in the transmission of Babesia behnkei

“…Juvenile ticks (10 larvae, 11 nymphs and two juvenile individuals of an unknown stage [damaged]) were collected from live-trapped rodents from W. Gebal and W. Gharaba (Table 1 ). A detailed description of the rodent trapping procedures that were used, is provided in our earlier papers (Alsarraf et al 2016 ; Bajer et al 2014 ; Behnke et al 2004 ).…”

“…Detection of Babesia was performed by nested PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene (Bajer et al 2014 ). The primers and thermal profiles used in this study have been described previously (Matjila et al 2008 ; Nijhof et al 2003 ; Oosthuizen et al 2008 ).…”

“…in rodents inhabiting specific ecosystems in the isolated, semi-desert montane valleys in the Sinai Massif. We have described the spatio-temporal patterns affecting the occurrence of specific parasites in spiny mouse Acomys dimidiatus (Alsarraf et al 2016 ; Bajer et al 2006 ; Behnke et al 2004 ) and described a new species, Babesia behnkei , in Wagner’s gerbil Dipodillus dasyurus from Wadi (valley) Gebal (Bajer et al 2014 ). Interestingly, we have detected marked differences in the distribution of ectoparasites among the four research sites (valleys), with mice from wadis Tlah and Gharaba infested by predominantly by fleas, and rodents from W. Gebal infested with juvenile ticks (Bajer et al 2006 ).…”

Description ofCandidatusBartonella fadhilae n. sp. andCandidatusBartonella sanaae n. sp. (Bartonellaceae) fromDipodillus dasyurusandSekeetamys calurus(Gerbillinae)from the Sinai Massif (Egypt)

“…Our long-term studies on temporal changes in the hemoparasite community ( Babesia , Bartonella , Haemobartonella , Hepatozoon , and Trypanosoma ) of rodents in Egypt (Behnke et al 2000, Bajer et al 2006) have led to the description of a novel species— Babesia behnkei (Bajer et al 2014a), and provided molecular evidence for the existence of two different variants of Hepatozoon and two novel variants of Trypanosoma acomys in Acomys dimidiatus (Alsarraf et al 2016). The aim of the current study was to identify the Bartonella species/strains in rodent hosts, including Wagner's gerbil Dipodillus dasyurus and the bushy-tailed jird Sekeetamys calurus , inhabiting isolated montane valleys in the Sinai Massif, Egypt.…”