Western Australian Marsupials Are Multiply Infected with Genetically Diverse Strains of Toxoplasma gondii

Shuting Pan,Alan J Lymbery,R C Andrew Thompson,Natarajan Sundar,Michael E Grigg,Andrew Smith,Ikuo Igarashi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045147

Shuting Pan, Alan J Lymbery + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045147

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Abstract

Five different organs from 16 asymptomatic free-ranging marsupial macropods (Macropus rufus, M. fuliginosus, and M. robustus) from inland Western Australia were tested for infection with Toxoplasma gondii by multi-locus PCR-DNA sequencing. All macropods were infected with T. gondii, and 13 had parasite DNA in at least 2 organs. In total, 45 distinct T. gondii genotypes were detected. Fourteen of the 16 macropods were multiply infected with genetically distinct T. gondii genotypes that often partitioned between different organs. The presence of multiple T. gondii infections in macropods suggests that native mammals have the potential to promote regular cycles of sexual reproduction in the definitive felid host in this environment.

Highlights

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite of endothermic vertebrates including humans
Using the B1 gene as a diagnostic marker, all 16 individual macropods were infected by T. gondii, with the parasite detected in tissue samples from at least one organ (Table 1)
High prevalences have been reported in wildlife in different areas of the world, for example approximately 50% in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in France [18], 60% in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the USA [19], 75% in capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) in Brazil [20] and 84% in black bears (Ursus americanus) in the USA [21]

Summary

Introduction

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite of endothermic vertebrates including humans. A fourth lineage (designated haplogroup 12) was identified, principally infecting wild animals in sylvatic niches of North America [3]. The capacity of this parasite to be transmitted asexually by carnivory [4], and the apparent rarity of mixed strain T. gondii coinfections among prey species of the definitive felid host (which would promote only self-fertilisation during the sexual cycle), have been interpreted to explain the clonal population genetic structure found in these two regions [5,6,7]

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