Abstract
BackgroundThe African leopard Panthera pardus pardus (L.) is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species due to ongoing population declines. This implies that leopard-specific parasites are also vulnerable to extinction. Intracellular apicomplexan haemoparasites from the genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 have been widely reported from wild carnivores in Africa, including non-specific reports from leopards. This paper describes two new haemogregarines in captive and wild leopards from South Africa and provides a tabular summary of these species in relation to species of Hepatozoon reported from mammalian carnivores.MethodsBlood was collected from nine captive and eight wild leopards at various localities throughout South Africa. Thin blood smears were Giemsa-stained and screened for intraleukocytic haemoparasites. Gamont stages were micrographed and morphometrically compared with existing literature pertaining to infections in felid hosts. Haemogregarine specific primer set 4558F and 2733R was used to target the 18S rRNA gene for molecular analysis. Resulting sequences were compared to each other and with other available representative mammalian carnivore Hepatozoon sequences from GenBank.ResultsTwo species of Hepatozoon were found in captive and wild leopards. Of the 17 leopards screened, eight were infected with one or both morphologically and genetically distinct haemogregarines. When compared with other species of Hepatozoon reported from felids, the two species from this study were morphometrically and molecularly distinct. Species of Hepatozoon from this study were observed to exclusively parasitize a particular type of leukocyte, with Hepatozoon luiperdjie n. sp. infecting neutrophils and Hepatozoon ingwe n. sp. infecting lymphocytes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these haemogregarines are genetically distinct, with Hepatozoon luiperdjie n. sp. and Hepatozoon ingwe n. sp. falling in well supported separate clades.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first morphometric and molecular description of Hepatozoon in captive and wild African leopards in South Africa. This study highlights the value of using both morphometric and molecular characteristics when describing species of Hepatozoon from felid hosts.
Highlights
The African leopard Panthera pardus pardus (L.) is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species due to ongoing population declines
The objectives of the present study were to (i) investigate whether captive and wild leopards in South Africa are infected with species of Hepatozoon; (ii) identify any infections found using both molecular analysis of a fragment of the 18S rRNA gene and morphological characteristics of the gamont stage in peripheral blood; (iii) determine if any of the Hepatozoon spp. identified can be linked to hepatozoonosis based on clinical symptoms of the host
The overall prevalence of hepatozoonosis recorded in this study was 56%, which is similar to that reported in Iriomote cats Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis from Japan (56.7%) [55], spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben) from Zambia (56%) [28], and captive Asiatic lions P. l. persica from India (55.56%) [11]
Summary
The African leopard Panthera pardus pardus (L.) is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species due to ongoing population declines. This implies that leopard-specific parasites are vulnerable to extinction. Intracellular apicomplexan haemoparasites from the genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 have been widely reported from wild carnivores in Africa, including non-specific reports from leopards. Members of the genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 are intracellular apicomplexan haemogregarines (Apicomplexa Levine, 1970: Adeleorina Léger, 1911: Hepatozoidae Wenyon, 1926) widely reported from amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including carnivores such as wild felids [1]. Peirce et al [6] supported this by suggesting that researchers are wrong to assume that all species of Hepatozoon from African carnivore are synonyms of H. canis
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