First identification and molecular phylogeny of Sparganum proliferum from endangered felid (Panthera onca) and other wild definitive hosts in one of the regions with highest worldwide biodiversity

Abstract

After decades of being neglected, broad tapeworms now attract growing attention thanks to the increasing number of reports from humans but also thanks to many advancements achieved by application of molecular methods in diagnosis and epidemiological studies. Regarding sparganosis, unfortunately general uniformity of most species, their high intraspecific variability and lack of agreement among researchers has led to confusion about the classification of Spirometra/Sparganum species. For the first time we determined adult, eggs and plerocercoid life cycle stages and the molecular phylogeny of Sparganum proliferum obtained from endangered wild felids ( Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus guttulus and Herpailurus yagoauroundi ) in one of the largest continuous remnants of worldwide biodiversity, the Atlantic Forest from South America. Our results showed that at least 57% of total species of wild felids in this natural area could act as definitive hosts of Sparganum proliferum . We conclude that the availability of more morphological characteristics are needed in order to secure reliable characterization and diagnosis of sparganosis. The integration of these data with molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences will be useful for species discrimination. 1

Genome of the fatal tapeworm Sparganum proliferum uncovers mechanisms for cryptic life cycle and aberrant larval proliferation

“…The high-quality reference genomes presented herein, however, provide valuable resources for further attempts to identify vestigial S. proliferum sequences in other organisms or to perform analyses of protein-protein interactions between hosts and parasites. Recently, a possible adult form of S. proliferum was isolated from wild felids and fragments of mitochondrial cox-1, nad-1 and atp-6 genes were sequenced 10 . Although those sequences showed higher similarities to S. proliferum than S. erinaceieuropaei or other tapeworms, the percentages of identities with the S. proliferum mitochondrion were relatively low (93% (320/343) in cox1, 96% (284/296) in nad1 and 92% (531/577) in atp6), suggesting they are closely related but not identical species.…”

“…However, the adult stage of S. proliferum has not been observed and the precise taxonomic relationships of S. proliferum with other worms remain unclear because most of the submitted sequences are of mitochondria origin and include only a limited number of genes. Recently, adult forms of tapeworms were isolated from wild felids and reported that they showed high-DNA sequence similarity to S. sparganum 10 . However, this study was based on only a few mitochondrial genes and more evidence is required to determine the precise taxonomic classification of this parasite.…”

Intestinal Parasites of Neotropical Wild Jaguars, Pumas, Ocelots, and Jaguarundis in Colombia: Old Friends Brought Back from Oblivion and New Insights

“…The occurrence of Spirometra infections across South America has been reported since the beginning of the 20th century [ 35 ]. This cestode has been previously recorded in Geoffroy’s cat ( Leopardus geoffroyi ), puma, and jaguarundi in western Paraguay [ 36 ]; the guiña ( Leopardus guigna ) in Chile [ 37 ]; and jaguar, puma, and margay ( Leopardus wiedii ) in Brazil [ 16 , 38 ]. Additionally, ocelots from Peru [ 39 ] and Brazil [ 38 ] have been shown to represent feasible definitive hosts of Spirometra sp.…”

“…Moreover, the presence of metazoan parasites has also been reported in non-domestic NWF, showing them as feasible hosts of gastropod-borne metastrongyloid lungworms [ 11 , 12 ] or Dirofilaria immitis , the causative agent of heartworm disease [ 13 ]. Other helminths, for instance, hookworms [ 14 ], trematodes [ 15 ], and cestodes, [ 13 , 16 , 17 , 18 ] have also been reported in non-domestic wild felids as well as ectoparasites like ticks, mites, and fleas [ 19 ]. The sophisticated ways in which parasite life cycles have evolved to ensure transmission involve complex interactions with vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, and parasite assemblage reflects the host’s trophic position within the food web [ 20 ].…”

Molecular Characterization of Spirometra decipiens Complex (Eucestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) from Uruguay

“…The other clade among S. decipiens complex 1 was formed with Spirometra retrieved from wild felids, L. munoai, P. concolor and L. pardalis (these two latter from Argentina) [27]. Although Arrabal et al [27] registered diphyllobothriideans adults and eggs as Sparganum proliferum, this is the denomination for a larval stage; consequently, the adult stage and its products (eggs) should be named as Spirometra sp. Phylogenetically, this taxon seemed to be closer to Spirometra sp.…”