Novel piroplasmid and Hepatozoon organisms infecting the wildlife of two regions of the Brazilian Amazon

- We detected Babesia and Theileria genotypes in Amazon wildlife for the first time.
- Cytauxzoon felis and Hepatozoon felis is reported from ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).
- We detected novel Hepatozoon genotypes from reptiles and the rodent Cuniculus paca.

During 2009-2012, wild animals were sampled in two areas within the Amazon biome of Brazil, in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Animal tissues and blood were molecularly tested for the presence of Piroplasmida (genera Babesia, Theileria, Cytauxzoon) or Hepatozoon DNA. Overall, 181 wild animals comprising 36 different species (2 reptiles, 5 birds, and 29 mammals) were sampled. The following Piroplasmida agents were detected: Cytauxzoon felis in one ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Theileria cervi in two red brocket deer (Mazama americana), Theileria spp. in three nine-banded-armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), one agouti (Dasyprocta sp.), and four lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca), Babesia spp. in one common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) and one white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari). The following Hepatozoon agents were detected: Hepatozoon sp. (possibly Hepatozoon caimani) in three spectacled caimans (Caiman crocodilus), Hepatozoon felis in an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and Hepatozoon spp. in one scorpion mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides) and one lowland paca (Cuniculus paca). Phylogenetic analyses inferred by the 18S rRNA gene partial sequences supported these results, highlighting at least five novel Piroplasmida agents, and two novel Hepatozoon agents. This study screened the presence of tick-borne protozoa in a number of wildlife species from the Amazon for the first time. Our results indicate that a variety of genetically distinct Piroplasmida and Hepatozoon organisms circulate under natural conditions in the Amazonian wildlife.

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