First Molecular Identification of Trypanosomes and Absence of Babesia sp. DNA in Faeces of Non-Human Primates in the Ecuadorian Amazon

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 12; p. 1490
• Main Authors: Carrillo-Bilbao, Gabriel, Navarro, Juan-Carlos, Martin-Solano, Sarah, Chávez-Larrea, María-Augusta, Cholota-Iza, Cristina, Saegerman, Claude
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07-12-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Babesia; Biodiversity; Biological evolution; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Ecuadorian Amazon; Evolution; faecal samples; Feces; Gene amplification; General Immunology and Microbiology; Genetic testing; Immunology and Allergy; Immunology and Microbiology (all); Infectious Diseases; Life sciences; Microbiology (medical); Molecular Biology; Médecine vétérinaire & santé animale; non-human primate; Parasites; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; Primates; Rehabilitation; Sciences du vivant; Sequences; Species; Topology; Trypanosoma; Trypanosome; Vertebrates; Veterinary medicine & animal health; Wildlife; Wildlife management; wildlife rehabilitation center; Zoonoses; Ecuador; Trypanosoma; non-human primate; Ecuadorian Amazon; DNA; faecal samples; wildlife rehabilitation center; Babesia
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11121490

Trypanosomes are a group of pathogens distributed in the continents of Africa, America, Asia and Europe, and they affect all vertebrates including the neotropical primate group. Information about the trypanosome's diversity, phylogeny, ecology and pathology in non-human primates (NHPs) from the neotropical region is scarce. The objective of the study was to identify
and
molecularly in NHPs under the phylogenetic species concept. We extracted DNA from a total of 76 faecal samples collected between 2019 and 2021, from a total of 11 non-human primate species of which 46 are from captive NHPs and 30 are free-living NHPs in the Western Amazon region of Ecuador. We did not detect DNA of
sp. by polymerase chain reaction test in any of the faecal samples. However, the nested-PCR-based method revealed
parasites by ITS gene amplification in two faecal samples; one for the species
(from the captive population) and a second one for
(from the free-ranging population). Maximum parsimony and likelihood methods with the Kimura2+G+I model inferred the evolutionary history of the two records, which showed an evolutionary relationship with the genus
. Two sequences are monophyletic with
However, the number of sequences available in GenBank for their species identification is limited. The two samples present different molecular identifications and evolutionary origins in the tree topology. We are most likely referring to two different species, and two different localities of infection. We suggest that health management protocols should be implemented to prevent the transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as
sp. among captive populations. In addition, these protocols also protect the personnel of wildlife rehabilitation centers working in close proximity to NHPs and vice versa.