Molecular Assessment of Apicomplexan Parasites in the Snake<i>Psammophis</i>from North Africa: Do Multiple Parasite Lineages Reflect the Final Vertebrate Host Diet?

Tomé, Beatriz; Maia, João P.; Harris, D. James

doi:10.1645/12-95.1

Cited by 32 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The results showed that Hepatozoon spp. could be grouped into several sister clades in a way which is similar to the results of previous studies Tomé et al 2012Tomé et al , 2013. H. garnhami did not form sister relation with other snake-infecting Hepatozoon species, including species found from P. Schokari in, Northern Africa, but an independent branch and clustered in a clade which was constituted by several Hepatozoon species from geckos, snakes and rodents.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…H. garnhami did not form sister relation with other snake-infecting Hepatozoon species, including species found from P. Schokari in, Northern Africa, but an independent branch and clustered in a clade which was constituted by several Hepatozoon species from geckos, snakes and rodents. Several possibilities were presented to explain the 18S rDNA sequence-based phylogenetic relationships of Hepatozoon species in the previous literature (Sloboda et al 2007;Tomé et al 2013). Our results supported the preypredator transmission hypothesis regarding the relationships of snake-infecting Hepatozoon, other no Hepatozoon spp.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Alternatively, however, the natural species diversity of Hepatozoon could in fact be underestimated in that many species may not yet have been found considering their low concern. For a better estimation of the diversity of these haematozoan groups and correct species identification, molecular techniques have now been widely applied (Wicks et al 2006, Rubini et al 2006, Boulianne et al 2007, Ortuño et al 2008, Vilcins et al 2009Tomé et al 2012Tomé et al , 2013. In the present work, we successfully amplified the partial fragment of the 18S rRNA gene and constructed a phylogenetic tree based on this molecular marker.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Redescription of Haemogregarina garnhami (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from the blood of Psammophis schokari (Serpentes: Colubridae) as Hepatozoon garnhami n. comb. based on molecular, morphometric and morphologic characters

Abdel‐Baki¹,

Al‐Quraishy²,

Zhang³

2014

Acta Parasitologica

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Hepatozoon garnhami n. comb. was redescribed from Schokari sand snakes (Psammophis schokari) collected from Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia. Gametocytes were found in the peripheral blood of 2 of 15 snakes examined. Based on the similar morphological and morphometric characteristics, the same host and a similar host habitat environment, it can be concluded for the first time that the present species is conspecific with Haemogregarina garnhami previously reported from Psammophis shokari aegyptius. To further characterize this parasite, the partial 18S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. The sequence analysis also showed that Haemogregarina garnhami should be reassigned into the genus Hepatozoon as Hepatozoon garnhami which has 99.5% (859/863 bp) sequence similarity to Hepatozoon ayorgbor, infecting the erythrocytes of Python regius in Ghana. Phylogenetic analysis showed that H. garnhami formed a mixed clade with Hepatozoon spp. from geckos, snakes and rodents and ophidian Hepatozoon spp. did not form a separated phylogenetic unit. Also, Psammophis schokari-infecting Hepatozoon contained several different genetic lineages. To our knowledge, the present work extends the geographic distribution of H. garnhami and is the first report of Hepatozoon infection in snakes from Saudi Arabia.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Redescription of Haemogregarina garnhami (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from the blood of Psammophis schokari (Serpentes: Colubridae) as Hepatozoon garnhami n. comb. based on molecular, morphometric and morphologic characters

Abdel‐Baki¹,

Al‐Quraishy²,

Zhang³

2014

Acta Parasitologica

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“…Prevalence was low, likely because the primers used in this study were designed for Hepatozoon spp. (Ujvari et al 2004) and only amplify other apicomplexans occasionally Tomé et al 2013). Babesia spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

Maia

Álvares

Boratyński

et al. 2014

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Parasites play a major role in ecosystems, and understanding of host-parasite interactions is important for predicting parasite transmission dynamics and epidemiology. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the distribution, diversity, and impact of parasites in wildlife, especially from remote areas. Hepatozoon is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that is transmitted by ingestion of infected arthropod vectors. However, alternative modes of transmission have been identified such as trophic transmission. Using the 18S rRNA gene as a marker, we provide an assessment of Hepatozoon prevalence in six wild canid and two rodent species collected between 2003 and 2012 from remote areas in North Africa. By combining this with other predator-prey systems in a phylogenetic framework, we investigate Hepatozoon transmission dynamics in distinct host taxa. [7/11, 42%]). Phylogenetic analysis showed further evidence of occasional transmission of Hepatozoon lineages from prey to canid predators, which seems to occur less frequently than in other predator-prey systems such as between snakes and lizards. Due to the complex nature of the Hepatozoon lifecycle (heteroxenous and vector-borne), future studies on these wild host species need to clarify the dynamics of alternative modes of Hepatozoon transmission and identify reservoir and definitive hosts in natural populations. We also detected putative Babesia spp. (Apicomplexa: Piroplasmida) infections in two canid species from this region, V. pallida (1/28) and V. zerda (1/11).

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“…Hepatozoon parasites were detected by identification of part of the 18S rRNA gene using two pairs of hemogregarine-specific primers (HepF300/ HepR900 (Ujvari et al 2004) and HEMO1/HEMO2 (Perkins and Keller 2001)) targeting different but overlapping parts of the 18S rRNA gene. The PCR reaction mixture contained: 1 × PCR buffer, 2.5 mM MgCl 2 , 0.2 mM dNTPs, 1.5 U Taq DNA Polymerase (Invitrogen, USA), 0.3 μM oligonucleotides (F/R) and 2 μl diluted DNA (containing 20-100 ng DNA).…”

Section: Amplification and Sequencing Of Dnamentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from king ratsnakes (Elaphe carinata) in Shanghai, with description of a new species

Han

Dong

et al. 2015

Acta Parasitologica

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Hepatozoon species are the most common hemoparasites of snakes. In this study, Hepatozoon parasites were examined for the first time in king rat snakes (Elaphe carinata) from Shanghai, China. All 10 snakes were found to be infected with Hepatozoon gamonts. The gamonts were folded back in a hook-wise fashion for about 3 μm at one end. Parasitemia levels ranged from 4-43 infected erythrocytes per 1,000 examined. The gamonts changed the morphology of the parasitized erythrocytes. Although the gamonts showed some distinct variations in both the parasite and its nucleus, phylogenetic analysis indicated that all the E. carinata in this study formed a monophyletic group, and were distinct from all other published Hepatozoon species. A new species, Hepatozoon chinensis, was proposed based on the molecular and morphologic evidence.

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Molecular Assessment of Apicomplexan Parasites in the SnakePsammophisfrom North Africa: Do Multiple Parasite Lineages Reflect the Final Vertebrate Host Diet?

Cited by 32 publications

References 31 publications

Redescription of Haemogregarina garnhami (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from the blood of Psammophis schokari (Serpentes: Colubridae) as Hepatozoon garnhami n. comb. based on molecular, morphometric and morphologic characters

Redescription of Haemogregarina garnhami (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from the blood of Psammophis schokari (Serpentes: Colubridae) as Hepatozoon garnhami n. comb. based on molecular, morphometric and morphologic characters

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

First report of Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) from king ratsnakes (Elaphe carinata) in Shanghai, with description of a new species

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