MOLECULAR DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PIROPLASMIDS IN WILD MAMMALS FROM THE BRAZILIAN CAATINGA, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A PUTATIVE NOVEL CLADE INFECTING KERODON RUPESTRIS AND THRICHOMYS APEREOIDES

Daniel Antônio Braga Lee; Jovêncio Mateus Sada; João Vitor dos Santos Alves da Silva; Manuel Benicio Oliveira Neto; Allan Costa Gomes; Matheus Resende Oliveira; Rosangela Zacarias Machado; Victor Fernando Santana Lima; Marcos Rogério André

Título do Trabalho

Autores

Daniel Antônio Braga Lee
Jovêncio Mateus Sada
João Vitor dos Santos Alves da Silva
Manuel Benicio Oliveira Neto
Allan Costa Gomes
Matheus Resende Oliveira
Rosangela Zacarias Machado
Victor Fernando Santana Lima
Marcos Rogério André

Modalidade

Resumo

Área temática

Protozoologia e patógenos transmitidos por vetores

Data de Publicação

24/09/2026

País da Publicação

Brasil

Idioma da Publicação

pt-BR

Página do Trabalho

https://www.even3.com.br/anais/23-congresso-brasileiro-de-parasitologia-veterinaria-673729/1565506-molecular-detection-and-characterization-of-piroplasmids-in-wild-mammals-from-the-brazilian-caatinga-with-a-des

ISBN

978-65-272-2733-5

Palavras-Chave

Piroplasmida, Caviidae, rodents, marsupials

Resumo

Piroplasmids are tick-borne protozoan parasites of global importance, and key species like Babesia and Theileria have a widespread distribution, primarily infecting mammalian hosts and potentially causing disease and economic losses. In the present study we investigated the molecular occurrence of Piroplasmida agents in mammalian blood samples collected from April 2025 to February 2026 in the Monumento Natural Grota do Angico (Mona), a Caatinga preservation area located in the state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil. We sampled a total of 46 animals: 26 rock cavies (Kerodon rupestris), 13 common Punarés (Thrichomys apereoides), 4 crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous), 2 white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris) and one black rat (Rattus rattus). DNA was extracted and a cPCR based on the mammalian endogenous gene (gapdh) was performed to confirm the absence of inhibitors. All samples (46/46; 100%) were positive for this assay and were subsequently submitted to a molecular screening for piroplasmids based on the 18S rRNA genic region. A total of 30/46 (65.2%) samples were positive in that assay [24/26 (92.3%) K. rupestris; 6/13 (46.1%) T. apereoides; 2/2 (100%) D. albiventris]. Those positive samples were then submitted to molecular characterization of piroplasmids, using PCR assays based on distinct molecular markers: 18S rRNA, hsp70, cytB, cox-1, and cox-3. The 18S rRNA, cytB and cox-1 sequences obtained from D. albiventris showed a high similarity (>99.5%) and were phylogenetically related to Babesia sp. sequences from the South America Marsupialia clade previously detected in D. albiventris and associated Amblyomma dubitatum ticks from Brazil. The sequences (18S rRNA, cytB and cox-1) obtained from K. rupestris and T. apereoides showed a higher identity (94.2 to 96.1%) to Piroplasmida sp. sequences from the Phyllostomidae and South America Rodentia clades previously detected in Phyllostomus discolor bats and Thrichomys pachyurus from the Brazilian Cerrado, respectively. Phylogenetic analyzes based on the 18S rRNA, cytB and cox-1 molecular markers revealed that our sequences clustered together in the same subclade, which was a sister clade to the subclade containing the South America Rodentia and Phyllostomidae bat-associated Piroplasmida sequences, with high bootstrap support values (100 for 18S rRNA, 98 for cytB and cox-1). These findings suggest that new species of Piroplasmida, positioned in a new piroplasmid clade, occur in rodents from the Brazilian Caatinga, as well as expand the geographical distribution of South American Marsupialia group in the Brazilian territory.

Título do Evento: 23º Congresso Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária
Cidade do Evento: Belo Horizonte
Título dos Anais do Evento: Anais do XXIII Congresso Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária
Nome da Editora: Even3
Meio de Divulgação: Meio Digital

Como citar

LEE, Daniel Antônio Braga et al.. MOLECULAR DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PIROPLASMIDS IN WILD MAMMALS FROM THE BRAZILIAN CAATINGA, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A PUTATIVE NOVEL CLADE INFECTING KERODON RUPESTRIS AND THRICHOMYS APEREOIDES.. In: Anais do XXIII Congresso Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária. Anais...Belo Horizonte(MG) Centro de Atividades Didáticas I (CAD 1) da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), 2026. Disponível em: https//www.even3.com.br/anais/23-congresso-brasileiro-de-parasitologia-veterinaria-673729/1565506-MOLECULAR-DETECTION-AND-CHARACTERIZATION-OF-PIROPLASMIDS-IN-WILD-MAMMALS-FROM-THE-BRAZILIAN-CAATINGA-WITH-A-DES. Acesso em: 01/11/2026