The Amami spiny rat (
Tokudaia osimensis
) is an endangered rodent species that is endemic to the forests of Amami-Oshima Island, Kagoshima, Japan. In July 2018, a deceased adult male Amami spiny rat was found on the Yuwandake Mountain Trail on the south-central coast of Amami-Oshima Island. Histopathological observations revealed protozoan infections in the liver, lungs, and heart. Nested or semi-nested PCRs targeting the
B1
,
SAG3
,
GRA6
, and
ROP18
genes successfully detected the genomic DNA of
Toxoplasma gondii
in the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimen. Sequence analyses of the
SAG3
,
GRA6
, and
ROP18
genes suggested that the strain detected in the study specimen was related to the type II strain of
T. gondii
. This is the first confirmed case of
T. gondii
infection in an Amami spiny rat.
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