Abstract
Hepatozoon species are the most common intracellular hemoparasite found in reptiles. Hepatozoon caimani, whose vectors are Culex mosquitoes, has been detected in a high prevalence among caimans in Brazil by blood smears examinations. The present work aimed to detect and characterize the Hepatozoon spp. found in 33 caimans (24 free-ranging and 9 captive; 28 males and 5 females) (Caiman crocodilus yacare) sampled at Poconé, North Pantanal, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, using blood smears examinations and molecular techniques. Hepatozoon spp.-gametocytes were found in 70.8% (17/24) and 88.8% (8/9) of blood smears from free-ranging and captive caimans, respectively. Hepatozoon spp. 18S rRNA DNA was found in 79.2% (19/24) and 88.8% (8/9) of free-ranging and captive caimans, respectively. Comparative analysis of parasitized and non-parasitized erythrocytes showed that all analyzed features were significantly different (P<0.05) for both linear and area dimensions. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA sequences grouped the Hepatozoon spp. sequences detected in the present study together with H. caimani, recently detected in caimans in southern Pantanal.
Highlights
Hepatozoon species are apicomplexan protozoans that infect a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, and include the widest distributed and most common intracellular hemoparasites found in reptiles (TELFORD, 1984, 2009)
Some attempts were unsuccessful in proving the experimental transmission of Hepatozoon to crocodilians (PESSÔA et al, 1972; LAINSON et al, 2003), structures similar to Hepatozoon oocystis have been recently described in these invertebrates collected from Caiman yacare’s oral cavity (SOARES et al, 2017a)
The occurrence of Hepatozoon sp. found in our study based on blood smears examinations (70.8%) among free-ranging C. yacare was lower than that found in C. crocodilus (76.7%) in the Amazon region (LAINSON, 1977) and in C. yacare in western (71.4%) and southeastern (76-79.5%) Pantanal (VIANA & MARQUES, 2005; VIANA et al, 2010a; SOARES et al, 2017a) in Brazil
Summary
Hepatozoon species are apicomplexan protozoans that infect a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, and include the widest distributed and most common intracellular hemoparasites found in reptiles (TELFORD, 1984, 2009). Hepatozoon caimani in Caiman crocodilus yacare of the infected-invertebrate hosts being eaten by caimans is minimal (LAINSON et al, 2003; PAPERNA & LAINSON, 2003). Caiman yacare become infected for the first time as juveniles, when its diet changes from ingestion of invertebrates to predation of anurans and fishes (VIANA et al, 2010a). Hepatozoon caimani‐cystozoites have been found in amphibian tissues of the following species: Leptodactylus fuscus, Leptodactylus chaquensis, Leptodactylus podicipinis, Scinax nasicus and Rana catesbeiana (LAINSON et al, 2003; VIANA et al, 2012), suggesting that anurans are paratenic hosts for H. caimani, frogs are not part of caiman’s diet. Some attempts were unsuccessful in proving the experimental transmission of Hepatozoon to crocodilians (PESSÔA et al, 1972; LAINSON et al, 2003), structures similar to Hepatozoon oocystis have been recently described in these invertebrates collected from Caiman yacare’s oral cavity (SOARES et al, 2017a)
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