Occurrence of tissue cyst forming coccidia in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) rescued on the coast of Brazil

Acosta, Igor da Cunha Lima; Soares, Rodrigo Martins; Mayorga, Luis Felipe Silva Pereira; Soares, Herbert Sousa; Gennari, Solange Maria

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209007

Cited by 19 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In addition to S. neurona, the networks in Fig. 3 included S. falcatula obtained from budgerigars that were experimentally infected with opossum's sporocysts (Gondim et al 2017, Cesar et al 2018) and S. falcatula directly detected in intermediate hosts (Konradt et al 2017, Acosta et al 2018. At the three SAG loci, S. neurona-07-2015-RS-BR was identical to Sarcocystis sp.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First molecular characterization of Sarcocystis neurona causing meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat in Brazil

et al. 2020

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Sarcocystis neurona is the main agent associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Apart from horses, S. neurona has been occasionally described causing neurologic disease in several other terrestrial animals as well as mortality in marine mammals. Herein, we describe the clinical, pathological, and molecular findings of a fatal case of S. neurona-associated meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat. The causing agent was analyzed by multilocus genotyping, confirming the presence of S. neurona DNA in the tissue samples of the affected animal. Significant molecular differences were found in relation to S. neurona isolates detected in other regions of the Americas. In addition, the parasite was identical to Sarcocystis sp. identified in opossum sporocysts in Brazil at molecular level, which suggests that transmission of. S. neurona in Brazil might involve variants of the parasite different from those found elsewhere in the Americas. Studies including more samples of S. neurona would be required to test this hypothesis, as well as to assess the impact of this diversity.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…speeri (Dubey et al 2015). It is worth mentioning that S. neurona and S. speeri are almost identical species according to criteria based on molecular identification (Cesar et al 2018;Acosta et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First molecular characterization of Sarcocystis neurona causing meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat in Brazil

et al. 2020

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“…However, these isolates were genetically distinct from both S. falcatula and S. neurona and, for this reason, classified as S. falcatula-like (20,21,(27)(28)(29). The Brazilian isolates that were submitted for sequencing of SAG genes possessed a high allelic variation in their coding genes for SAG2, SAG3, and SAG4, which seems to represent genetic recombination between S. neurona, S. falcatula, or other unidentified Sarcocsytis species (19)(20)(21)(27)(28)(29). Based on this peculiar scenario in Brazil, we hypothesized that Brazilian horses may be exposed and seroconvert to other species of Sarcocystis shed by opossums, besides S. neurona.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reactivity of Horse Sera to Antigens Derived From Sarcocystis falcatula–Like and Sarcocystis neurona

et al. 2020

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Sarcocystis neurona and Sarcocystis falcatula are protozoan parasites endemic to the Americas. The former is the major cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, and the latter is associated with pulmonary sarcocystosis in birds. The opossum Didelphis virginiana is the definitive host of these parasites in North America. Four Didelphis species are found in Brazil, and in most reports in this country, Sarcocystis species shed by opossums have been classified as S. falcatula-like. It is unknown whether reports on S. neurona-seropositive horses in Brazil are also derived from exposure of horses to S. falcatula-like. The aim of this study was to test the sera reactivity of 409 horses in Brazil using antigens derived from a Brazilian strain of S. falcatula-like (Sarco-BA1) and from a North American strain of S. neurona (SN138). Samples were examined by immunofluorescent antibody tests (IFATs) at start dilutions of 1:20, and a selected number of samples was tested by Western blot (WB). Sera from 43/409 (10.5%) horses were reactive to S. falcatula-like and 70 of 409 (17.1%) were reactive to S. neurona antigen; sera from 25 animals (6.1%) were positive for both parasites by IFAT. A poor agreement was observed between the two employed IFATs (κ = 0.364), indicating that horses were exposed to more than one Sarcocystis species. Horse sera evaluated by WB consisted of four sera reactive to S. falcatula-like by IFAT, six sera positive to S. neurona by IFAT, two sera that tested negative to both parasites by IFAT, and a negative control horse serum from New Zealand. Proteins in the range of 16 and 30 kDa were recognized by part of IFAT-positive sera using both antigen preparations. We concluded that Brazilian horses are exposed to distinct Sarcocystis species that generate different serological responses in exposed animals. Antigens in the range of 16 and 30 kDa are probably homologous in the two parasites. Exposure of the tested horses to other Sarcocystis species, such as Sarcocystis lindsayi, Sarcocystis speeri, and Sarcocystis fayeri, or Sarcocystis bertrami cannot be excluded in the current study.

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“…derived from opossums reported in Brazil are S. falcatula -like organisms, as they are infective to birds (Acosta et al, 2018; Cesar et al, 2018; Dubey et al, 2001b; Gallo et al, 2018; Gondim et al, 2017; Konradt et al, 2017; Stabenow et al, 2008; Valadas et al, 2016). In studies employing different genetic markers, in particular ITS1, almost all examined isolates differ from the known species of Sarcocystis that use opossum as definitive hosts (Acosta et al, 2018; Cesar et al, 2018; Gondim et al, 2017; Konradt et al, 2017; Valadas et al, 2016). In the entire North America there is a single species of opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ), whereas in Brazil, four species of Didelphis are observed ( D. albiventris , D. aurita, D. marsupialis and D. imperfecta ) (Cerqueira, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The occurrence of four Didelphis species residing in Brazil, associated with the great fauna diversity in the country, probably account for the genetic differences observed among Sarcocystis spp. derived from opossums in Brazilian studies (Acosta et al, 2018; Cesar et al, 2018; Gondim et al, 2017; Konradt et al, 2017; Monteiro et al, 2013; Valadas et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sarcocystis falcatula-like derived from opossum in Northeastern Brazil: In vitro propagation in avian cells, molecular characterization and bioassay in birds

Gondim

Soares

Tavares

et al. 2019

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Most reported isolates of Sarcocystis spp. derived from Brazilian opossums ( Didelphis sp.) have genetic characteristics distinct from the known species of Sarcocystis , but behave similarly as Sarcocystis falcatula , as they are infective to budgerigars. In previous studies, these Brazilian isolates, classified as Sarcocystis falcatula -like, were originated from South and Southeast regions of Brazil. In the current work, we aimed to culture and to perform multilocus sequence analysis of Sarcocystis sp. derived from a Brazilian opossum ( D. aurita / D. marsupialis ) that inhabited the city of Salvador, Bahia, in the Northeast of Brazil. The parasite was isolated in Vero cells, referred here as Sarco-BA1, and propagated in avian cells (DF-1). Molecular analysis of Sarco-BA1 revealed that the nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the rDNA was identical to all isolates (n = 19) of Sarcocystis spp. reported in two studies from South and Southeast regions of the country. Two budgerigars were inoculated with 10 and 1000 sporocysts of Sarco-BA1, respectively, and developed acute sarcocystosis, showing that the parasite behaves like S. falcatula . It was interesting to observe that Sarco-BA1 had almost identical ITS1 and SAG sequences to all 16 isolates of S. falcatula -like recently described in Magellanic penguins ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) rescued on the coast of Espírito Santo state, Brazil. Our results suggest that Sarco-BA1 and S. falcatula -like may represent a single species of Sarcocystis . Propagation of the parasite in a permanent avian cell line significantly improved the yield of merozoites in cell culture. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular study and in vitro isolation of S. falcatula -like derived from Northeastern Brazil. Studies are under way to determine the infectivity of Sarco-BA1 to other animal species, as well as to investigate serological cross-reactivity among Sarco-BA1, S. neurona and related species.

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Occurrence of tissue cyst forming coccidia in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) rescued on the coast of Brazil

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

First molecular characterization of Sarcocystis neurona causing meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat in Brazil

First molecular characterization of Sarcocystis neurona causing meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat in Brazil

Reactivity of Horse Sera to Antigens Derived From Sarcocystis falcatula–Like and Sarcocystis neurona

Sarcocystis falcatula-like derived from opossum in Northeastern Brazil: In vitro propagation in avian cells, molecular characterization and bioassay in birds

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