Novel Anaplasma (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) strain and Hepatozoon sp. cf. H. procyonis (Apicomplexa, Hepatozoidae) detected in Procyon cancrivorus (Carnivora, Procyonidae) from Argentina, with note of tick-host association

• Published in: Veterinary research communications Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 2241 - 2245
• Main Authors: Tarragona, Evelina L., Sebastian, Patrick S., Félix, Maria L., Venzal, Jose M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-12-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anaplasma; Anaplasmataceae; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brief Report; Hepatozoon; Life Sciences; Morphology; Nasua nasua; New species; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Procyon cancrivorus; Procyonidae; rRNA; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology; South America; Brazil; Argentina; Argentina; Hepatozoon; Procyon cancrivorus; Anaplasma; Amblyomma ovale
• ISSN: 0165-7380; 1573-7446
• DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10099-w

The aim of this work is to report the first detection of
Procyon cancrivorus
naturally co-infected with
Hepatozoon
sp. cf.
H. procyonis
and a novel
Anaplasma
strain from South America and potential vector tick species associated. On August 30, 2016, a specimen of
P. cancrivorus
was found dead on the route in Chaco province, Argentina. A tick and a blood sample by cardiac puncture was collected from the specimen. DNA was extracted from blood sample and the tick was morphological identity as a female of
Amblyomma ovale
. Molecular detection of Anaplasmataceae family and
Hepatozoon
spp. agents was performed targeting two different loci: 16 S rRNA and 18 S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic analyses show that the
Anaplasma
sp. strain detected in
P. cancrivorus
in this study is similar to
Anaplasma
sp. strains previously detected in
Nasua nasua
and
A. ovale
from Brazil. Furthermore,
Hepatozoon
sp. of the
H. procyonis
group was amplified that is phylogenetically closely related to
H. procyonis
reported in
N. nasua
from Brazil. Since it was not exactly the same as the latter, it was decided to name at
Hepatozoon
sp. cf.
H. procyonis.
It is possible that, this potential new species of
Anaplasma
would be specific for Procyonidae family and there are two species of
Hepatozoon
linked to this family in South America. These results added to other published studies suggest that
A. ovale
could be a potential vector both for the new potential strain of
Anaplasma
and for the
Hepatazoon
sp. of the
H. procyonis
group.