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.
Highlights
First risk factor-study on
N. caninum
infection in Antioquia department, Colombia.
Horizontal transmission is an important mode of infection in the studied region.
Abortion, age, origin and poor hygienic practices associated with manual milking are risk factors for
N. caninum
infection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.