Sergeia podlipaevi gen. nov., sp. nov. (Trypanosomatidae, Kinetoplastida), a parasite of biting midges (Ceratopogonidae, Diptera)

Abstract

Three strains of a trypanosomatid protozoan were isolated from the midguts of two naturally infected species of biting midges [Culicoides (Oecacta) festivipennis and Culicoides (Oecacta) truncorum] and characterized by light and electron microscopy and by molecular techniques. Morphological characteristics and sequences of the 18S rRNA, 5S rRNA, spliced leader RNA and glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes indicate that the studied flagellates represent a novel phylogenetic lineage within the Trypanosomatidae. Based on phylogenetic analyses, the novel endosymbiont-free, monoxenous trypanosomatid was classified as Sergeia podlipaevi gen. nov., sp. nov. Interestingly, it is closely related to another trypanosomatid species that parasitizes the sand fly Lutzomyia evansi, a blood-sucking dipteran from South America. The type strain of S. podlipaevi sp. nov., ICUL/CZ/2000/CER3, was obtained from Malpighian tubes. Of 2518 females of seven species of biting midges trapped in the Czech Republic, more than 1.5 % were infected by trypanosomatid parasites. An unrelated insect species, Culicoides (Monoculicoides) nubeculosus, was experimentally infected with S. podlipaevi, demonstrating that its host range extends to different subgenera of biting midges.

Leptoconops nosopheris sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and Paleotrypanosoma burmanicus gen. n., sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), a biting midge - trypanosome vector association from the Early Cretaceous

“…Both digenetic and monogenetic trypanosomes have been reported from extant biting midges (Sharp 1928, Kremer et al 1961, Baker 1976, Podlipaev et al 2004b, Svobodová et al 2007) and a monogenetic species is known from a biting midge in Burmese amber (Poinar & Poinar 2005). One extant trypanosome isolated from a biting midge was closely related to a strain isolated from Egyptian rats and could have been transferred to the vertebrate by the insect during blood feeding (Podlipaev et al 2004a).…”

Intracellular Signaling Pathways Involved in Cell Differentiation in Trypanosomatids

“…These structural and physiological changes are progressive and result in altered infectivity, a critical feature of a parasite [2]. The morphotypes that characterize a certain genus are cell shape, dimensions and the position of the complex kinetoplast-flagellar pocket relative to the nucleus [3,4] (Fig. 1).…”

Morphological and molecular description of Blastocrithidia cyrtomeni sp. nov. (Kinetoplastea: Trypanosomatidae) associated with Cyrtomenus bergi Froeschner (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) from Colombia

“…The most recent characterisations and analyses of biodiversity of new trypanosomatid species are based on the use of molecular methods and phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences such as spliced leader RNA (SL rRNA), 5S rRNA and glycosomal glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, which have proven to be powerful for discriminating among genera and species , Yurchenko et al 2006, Maslov et al 2007, Svobodová et al 2007. Recently, small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene-based phylogenies have been used to establish major natural groups within a family (Merzlyak et al 2001).…”