Ribosomal, mitochondrial and bacterial (Wolbachia) reference sequences for Dipetalonema gracile obtained from a wild pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) host in Manaus, Brazil

Abstract

The primates that inhabit the rainforest surrounding the city of Manaus (Amazonas, Brazil) have long been recognised as potentially important reservoirs of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (ERIDs). PCR amplification of filarial sequences from wild-caught Simulium oyapockense has been used to incriminate potentially important Amazon-region ERID bridge vectors by showing they had previously fed on non-human primates. The broader use of filarial parasite sequences for the incrimination of biting insects as potentially important zoonotic disease vectors is limited by a paucity of primate-derived filarial parasite reference sequences which can be matched to the PCR amplified sequences obtained from insect-vector vectors. Here we have used shotgun sequencing to obtain reference data from an adult Dipetalonema gracile parasite which was found infecting a wild pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) in a peripheral region of Manaus. We report the parasite´s complete mitochondrial genome (which is 13,647 base pairs in length), 894,846 base pairs of its Wolbachia genome and 6,426 base pairs of its ribosomal DNA locus (spanning from the start of its 18S subunit to the end of its 28S subunit). Despite being critically endangered, S. bicolor is commonly encountered around the periphery of Manaus and in urban forest fragments. The reported sequences may be a useful reference tool for identifying ERID bridge vectors and potentially provide some insights into the amount and the nature of contact between primate pathogen reservoirs and the residents of Manaus.

Dirofilaria immitis is endemic in rural areas of the Brazilian Amazonas state capital, Manaus

“…Although non-human primate filarial parasites have been recently recorded in the state of Amazonas and indeed Manaus, as of yet, there have not been reports of these parasites, or indeed D. immitis parasites, causing disease in humans ( Silva et al, 2022 ; Costa et al, 2023 ). In Pará state (Amazonas state´s eastern neighbor, which contains a similar Amazon-region rainforest ecology), however, there have been reports of zoonotic filarial parasites causing ocular infections ( Bain et al, 2011 ; Otranto et al, 2011 ).…”

“…Thus, although the presence of D. immitis has been confirmed in a number of municipalities surrounding the state capital of Manaus ( Soares et al, 2014 ; Silva et al, 2008 ), there have been no accounts of D. immitis in Manaus for more than 100 years ( Gordon & Young, 1922 ). Given the enormous geographical and populational expansion of Manaus over the last century and indeed the apparent loss of two formally endemic filarial parasites ( Mansonella ozzardi and Wuchecria bancrofti ), there was thus a clear and urgent need for an update on the distribution of these parasites in the city ( Abrahim et al, 2019 ; Costa et al, 2023 ; Martins et al, 2021 ).…”