Abstract
The generalist parasite Trypanosoma cruzi has two phylogenetic lineages associated almost exclusively with bats—Trypanosoma cruzi Tcbat and the subspecies T. c. marinkellei. We present new information on the genetic variation, geographic distribution, host associations, and potential vectors of these lineages. We conducted field surveys of bats and triatomines in southern Ecuador, a country endemic for Chagas disease, and screened for trypanosomes by microscopy and PCR. We identified parasites at species and genotype levels through phylogenetic approaches based on 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes and conducted a comparison of nucleotide diversity of the cytb gene. We document for the first time T. cruzi Tcbat and T. c. marinkellei in Ecuador, expanding their distribution in South America to the western side of the Andes. In addition, we found the triatomines Cavernicola pilosa and Triatoma dispar sharing shelters with bats. The comparisons of nucleotide diversity revealed a higher diversity for T. c. marinkellei than any of the T. c. cruzi genotypes associated with Chagas disease. Findings from this study increased both the number of host species and known geographical ranges of both parasites and suggest potential vectors for these two trypanosomes associated with bats in rural areas of southern Ecuador. The higher nucleotide diversity of T. c. marinkellei supports a long evolutionary relationship between T. cruzi and bats, implying that bats are the original hosts of this important parasite.
Highlights
IntroductionThe protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (order Kinetoplastida) causes Chagas disease, one of the main tropical diseases in the Americas [1]
The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, one of the main tropical diseases in the Americas [1]
The species with the highest infection rate was Artibeus fraterculus (90.1%), while Myotis sp. and Glossophaga soricina were positive in one locality each (Table 1)
Summary
The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (order Kinetoplastida) causes Chagas disease, one of the main tropical diseases in the Americas [1]. Cruzi is divided in seven discrete typing units (DTUs) (i.e., TcI-TcVI and Tcbat) [3,4,5,6]. New investigations have unveiled pronounced structuring within some DTUs e.g., [7,8,9,10]. Among these subdivisions of T. cruzi, those lineages associated almost exclusively with bats Marinkellei is restricted to bats, does not infect laboratory mice, and is thought to be exclusively transmitted by triatomines of the genus Cavernicola [11,12]. Tcbat is unable to develop in T. infestans and R. prolixus [3], and its vectors remain to be discovered, the occurrence of this genotype in Brazil, Panamá, and Colombia suggests that it can be transmitted by diverse vector species
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