Morphological, Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Herpetomonas samuelpessoai camargoi n. subsp., a Trypanosomatid Isolated from the Flower of the Squash Cucurbita moschata

Abstract

We report the morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics of a trypanosomatid isolated from the flower of Cucurbita moschata. Although the trypanosomatid was isolated from a plant, the lack of recognition of Phytomonas-specific molecular markers based on spliced-leader and ribosomal genes as well as by monoclonal antibodies specific for Phytomonas argues against assigning it to this genus. Because the isolate displayed typical opisthomastigote forms in culture, it is assigned to the genus Herpetomonas. Analysis of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns and characterization of ribosomal SSU and ITS markers suggest that it is more closely related to H. samuelpessoai than to any other species. However, the presence of spined flagellates in culture (displaying lateral expansions of the plasma membrane originating near the flagellar pocket) and isolate-specific RAPD fingerprints argue strongly that the trypanosomatid belongs to a new subspecies, for which the name Herpetomonas samuelpessoai camargoi n. subsp. is proposed.

Classification of trypanosomatids from fruits and seeds using morphological, biochemical and molecular markers revealed several genera among fruit isolates

“…Several studies have shown that plants can harbor trypanosomatids of various genera besides Phytomonas [7,14,15,20,26]. In contrast to Phytomonas, for which speci¢c molecular taxonomic markers are available [7,14,15], classi¢cation of members of Herpetomonas, Leptomonas and Crithidia still requires the development of speci¢c methods.…”

“…So far, all isolates from phloem have been classi¢ed as Phytomonas, whereas the few isolates from latex and fruits were classi¢ed as Leptomonas and Crithidia [7,11,14]. The only available culture of trypanosomatids isolated from £owers was classi¢ed as Herpetomonas [20]. However, despite the generic polymorphism of plant trypanosomatids, most plant isolates continue to be classi¢ed as Phytomonas exclusively on the basis of host origin, with only ¢ve plant isolates classi¢ed into other genera thus far [4,7,14,20].…”

“…The only available culture of trypanosomatids isolated from £owers was classi¢ed as Herpetomonas [20]. However, despite the generic polymorphism of plant trypanosomatids, most plant isolates continue to be classi¢ed as Phytomonas exclusively on the basis of host origin, with only ¢ve plant isolates classi¢ed into other genera thus far [4,7,14,20]. In order to assess the occurrence of di¡erent trypanosomatid genera in plants, we evaluated the generic diversity of £agellates from fruits and seeds.…”

Free-living ciliates as potential reservoirs for eukaryotic parasites: occurrence of a trypanosomatid in the macronucleus of Euplotes encysticus

“…After careful revision, it now represents a monophyletic assemblage comprising 13 species, some of which exhibit extreme morphological polymorphisms. In general, Herpetomonas are found as parasites of dipterans, but they have been reported also from predator hemipterans [14], plants [15,16], rats [6], and immunocompromised humans [17]. …”

Diversidade, relações filogenéticas e taxonomia de Phytomonas spp.

“…Das 97 culturas analisadas, 41 já haviam sido identificadas como Phytomonas em estudos anteriores (Teixeira et al, 1996;Serrano et al, 1999b,c (Serrano et al, 1999a,b;Catarino et al, 2001;Fiorini et al, 2001). Infecções experimentais demonstraram que tripanossomatídeos de diversos gêneros além de Phytomonas se desenvolvem muito bem em tomates Camargo, 1999).…”