First Report of Trypanosoma sp. in Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus): Morphological and Phylogenetic Relationships.

Arlei Marcili,Solange M Gennari,Igor C L Acosta,Herbert S Soares,Andrea P Da Costa,Julia T R De Lima,Antonio H H Minervino

doi:10.5402/2013/328794

Abstract

In Crocodylidae family three trypanosomes species were described, T. grayi in African crocodilian and T. cecili and Trypanosoma sp. in Caimans species from Brazil. T. grayi was transmitted by tsetse flies and the vector of Brazilian caimans trypanosomes is unknown. We characterized first Brazilian trypanosome isolated in spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) from Mato Grosso State in Brazil. Morphological findings in epimastigotes forms from axenic culture showed high similarity with Trypanosoma sp. described in Caiman yacare from Brazilian Pantanal. Phylogenetic studies performed with SSU rDNA and gGAPDH (glyceraldehydes-3-phosphato dehydrogenase glycosomal) clustering in T. grayi Clade and together to genotype Cay 01 from Trypanosoma unnamed species isolated in C. yacare. This is the first isolate of Trypanosoma sp. from C. crocodilus and the phylogenetic position with isolates in C. yacare from Pantanal region and demonstrates the low host specificity of cayman trypanosomes in Brazil.

Highlights

The order Crocodylia includes 23 living species and three families are recognized, Crocodylidae, Gavialidae, and Alligatoridae [1]
Alligatoridae occurs in South America and is composed of six species, Paleosuchus palpebrosus, P. trigonatus, Melanosuchus niger, Caiman yacare, C. latirostris, and C. crocodilus [2]
We described a first record of Trypanosoma sp. in spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) from Mato Grosso State and addressed the phylogenetic relationships with other crocodilian trypanosomes

Summary

Introduction

The order Crocodylia includes 23 living species and three families are recognized, Crocodylidae, Gavialidae, and Alligatoridae [1]. Most species of families Crocodylidae and Gavialidae occur in Africa and Asia. Alligatoridae occurs in South America and is composed of six species, Paleosuchus palpebrosus, P. trigonatus, Melanosuchus niger, Caiman yacare, C. latirostris, and C. crocodilus [2]. The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) has the widest distribution of the New World crocodilians with geographic range from southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil. This geographic variability enabled a segregation of this species into four subspecies [3, 4]. A single subspecies occur in North and Central Brazil, Caiman crocodilus crocodilus [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion