Abstract
This study aimed to identify members of the Sarcocystidae family in naturally infected wild birds at a rescue center in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The heart and brain of 44 wild birds were evaluated by bioassay in mice to detect T. gondii, and extracted DNA was used for nested PCR of the 18S ribosomal DNA gene to detect members of the Sarcocystidae family. The positive samples were sequenced, assembled, edited and compared with sequences deposited in GenBank. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from six (13.6%) out of 44 birds. Toxoplasma gondii DNA was identified in 10/44 (22.7%) of the birds. The amplified sequences exhibited 100% similarity with the DNA of the ME49 strain of T. gondii. Sarcocystis DNA (99% similarity) was identified in 5/44 (11.4%) of the birds. T. gondii and Sarcocystis spp. are common in wild birds in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Highlights
Parasites of the family Sarcocystidae (Apicomplexa) are associated with a variety of diseases in humans and other animals (Yang et al, 2001)
This study aimed to identify members of the Sarcocystidae family in the heart and brain of naturally infected wild birds rescued in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil
The organs were collected from the rescued birds after natural death at the Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres (CETAS; Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state), which is associated with the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA)
Summary
Parasites of the family Sarcocystidae (Apicomplexa) are associated with a variety of diseases in humans and other animals (Yang et al, 2001). The member genera of the family Sarcocystidae infecting birds are Sarcocystis, Cystoisospora, Toxoplasma, and Frenkelia (Ogedengbe et al, 2016). In addition to these genera, Atoxoplasma spp., causing a disease known as systemic isosporosis, is a coccidian that can infect several species of birds (Mohr et al, 2017). The genus Sarcocystis comprises approximately 200 species, which vary in their life cycles, pathogenicity and capacities to infect humans, other mammals, birds, reptiles and fish (Odening, 1998). Wild birds can act as definitive and/or intermediate hosts of several species of Sarcocystis (Kutkiene & Sruoga, 2004). The main factors that hinder the identification and characterization of Sarcocystis species are molecular and morphological similarity (Yang et al, 2001)
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Schedule a callMore From: Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria
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