Two New Species of Trypanosomatid Parasites Isolated from Heteroptera in Costa Rica

Abstract

Two new trypanosomatid species (Euglenozoa, Kinetoplastea) isolated from the intestinal tract of heteropteran insect hosts were described based on molecular phylogenetic analyses of Spliced Leader (SL) RNA gene repeats, glycosomal glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, and small subunit ribosomal RNA genes, as well as by morphology. Leptomonas barvae n. sp., from a mirid host Collaria oleosa, was found to represent one of the closest monoxenous (one host) relatives of the dixenous (two hosts) parasitic genus Leishmania. This finding further supports the origin of these dixenous parasites from monoxenous progenitors in the Neotropics. Blastocrithidia largi n. sp., from a largid host Largus cinctus, is among a few members of this genus available in culture. The species is a close relative of Blastocrithidia triatomae and is a member of a new monophyletic phylogenetic group characterized by formation of straphanger cysts.

Isolation of Novel Trypanosomatid, Zelonia australiensis sp. nov. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) Provides Support for a Gondwanan Origin of Dixenous Parasitism in the Leishmaniinae

“…costaricensis was originally isolated from a non-hematophagous reduviid bug, Ricolla simillima , these insects are predatory and may have recently fed on a hematophagous insect prior to the isolation of Z . costaricensis [89]. This is conceivable as Novymonas which was first isolated and described from Niesthrea vincentii (Hemiptera: Rhopalidae) has also been detected in Zelus sp.…”

Revised classification of the subfamily Leishmaniinae (Trypanosomatidae)

“…Nevertheless, it is phylogenetically distant from other Leptomonas spp. and has no close relatives in any other described genera (Maslov et al 2010, Espinosa et al 2017. Instead, it falls within the infrafamily Leishmaniatae and is sister to all oth- er members of this group (Votýpka et al 2012, Kostygov et al 2014.…”

“…The main argument for such an act was high support of this group on phylogenetic trees. However, the subfamily Leishmaniinae sensu is also a strongly supported clade (Maslov et al 2010, Jirků et al 2012, Kostygov et al 2014, Schwarz et al 2015. As a matter of fact, a clade with high support corresponds to a natural taxon but has no relation to a particular rank.…”

“…The only unresolved issue with such a system would be the nomenclature of Leptomonas barvae Maslov et Lukeš, 2010. It was assigned to the genus Leptomonas based on morphology and monoxenous life cycle.…”

Diversidade, relações filogenéticas e taxonomia de Phytomonas spp.

“…Vários estudos apontam topologias congruentes de análises filogenéticas utilizando os genes gGAPDH e SSUrDNA, assim, o uso independente ou combinado desses genes tem sido recomendado na descrição e inferências filogenéticas de gêneros e espécies de tripanossomatídeos (Hamilton et al, 2004(Hamilton et al, , 2005a(Hamilton et al, , 2009Viola et al, 2009;Maslov et al, 2010;Teixeira et al, 2011;Fermino et al, 2013;Borghesan et al, 2013).…”