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Abstract
Hepatocystis parasites are closely related to mammalian Plasmodium species, the causative agents of malaria. Despite the close phylogenetic relationship, Hepatocystis parasites lack the intermittent erythrocytic replication cycles, the signature and exclusive cause of malaria-related morbidity and mortality. Hepatocystis population expansion in the mammalian host is thought to be restricted to the pre-erythrocytic liver phase. Complete differentiation of first generation blood stages into sexual stages for subsequent vector transmission indicates alternative parasite/host co-evolution. In this study, we identified a region of exceptionally high prevalence of Hepatocystis infections in Old World fruit bats in South Sudan. Investigations over the course of five consecutive surveys revealed an average of 93 percent prevalence in four genera of African epauletted fruit bats. We observed a clear seasonal pattern and tolerance of high parasite loads in these bats. Phylogenetic analyses revealed several cryptic Hepatocystis parasite species and, in contrast to mammalian Plasmodium parasites, neither host specificity nor strong geographical patterns were evident. Together, our study provides evidence for Pan-African distribution and local high endemicity of a Hepatocystis species complex in Pteropodidae.
Highlights
Parasites of the mammal-infecting haemosporidian parasite genus Hepatocystis are closely related to mammalian Plasmodium species[1,2,3]
Merocysts are formed in the liver and, similar to Plasmodium parasites, generate thousands of daughter cells, but they appear to be the only replication phase in the vertebrate host
Infections likely do not result in the characteristic malaria signs that are associated with this specific parasite life cycle step
Summary
Parasites of the mammal-infecting haemosporidian parasite genus Hepatocystis are closely related to mammalian Plasmodium species[1,2,3]. Merocysts are formed in the liver and, similar to Plasmodium parasites, generate thousands of daughter cells (merozoites), but they appear to be the only replication phase in the vertebrate host. Contrary to Plasmodium species, Hepatocystis parasites appear to lack the asexual erythrocytic replication cycles. It is important to note that an early report described irregular schizonts in the blood of bats[9]. This observation was questioned by Garnham (1953)[11], who Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, Mammals Collections, Berlin, 10115, Germany. Failed to confirm similar signatures of asexual replication in Hepatocystis infections and commented that these “blood-stage schizonts” were more likely fragments of the large liver merocysts. Few studies of the pathogenicity of Hepatocystis infections in bat hosts have been conducted,
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