Molecular and Morphological Characterization of a Brazilian Lineage of Plasmodium (Novyella) Unalis in Turdus Spp. (Passeriformes) of the Atlantic Forest, with Remarks on New Hosts and High Genetic Variation

Plasmodium spp. are haemosporidian protozoans that alternate their live cycles between bloodsucking Culicidae dipterans and vertebrate hosts (mammals, reptiles, and birds). In birds, these parasites are the causative agents of the so-called avian malaria, a disease associated with considerable decli...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of parasitology 2018-02, Vol.104 (1), p.70-78
Main Authors: Tostes, Raquel, Dias, Roberto J. P, de Oliveira, Luísa, Senra, Marcus V. X, Massard, Carlos L, D'Agosto, Marta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avifauna
Biodiversity
Birds
Culicidae
Cyt b gene
Cytochrome
Cytochromes
Divergence
Forests
Gene sequencing
Genetic diversity
Identification
Light microscopy
Malaria
Microscopy
Morphology
Parasites
Parasitic diseases
Parasitology
Plasmodium
Plasmodium unalis
Polymorphism
Studies
SYSTEMATICS-PHYLOGENETICS
Taxonomy
Turdus albicollis
Turdus flavipes
Turdus fuscater
Turdus leucomelas
Turdus rufiventris
Vector-borne diseases
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Plasmodium spp. are haemosporidian protozoans that alternate their live cycles between bloodsucking Culicidae dipterans and vertebrate hosts (mammals, reptiles, and birds). In birds, these parasites are the causative agents of the so-called avian malaria, a disease associated with considerable declines and extinctions in the avifauna in different geographical regions. In this work, we applied a multidisciplinary approach, light microscopy and cytochrome oxidase b (cyt b) gene sequence analysis, for characterization of Plasmodium spp. found in association with wild birds of the genus Turdus, collected in Atlantic forest fragments of southeastern Brazil. From the total 90 analyzed birds, 58 (47 Turdus rufiventris, 9 Turdus leucomelas, 1 Turdus albicollis, and 1 Turdus flavipes) were positively infected with Plasmodium unalis, a haemosporidian that was previously detected in Turdus fuscater in Colombia and in penguins in Brazil, but has never been found in association with these Turdus species of this present work. Moreover, all 7 new sequences of P. unalis cyt b gene clustered into a monophyletic clade with previously characterized P. unalis sequences with a mean genetic divergence of 1.6% and with a maximum divergence of 3.1%, indicating for a high degree of intraspecific polymorphism within this parasitic species. Together, our data highlight the existence a high degree of intraspecific variation within P. unalis and highlight the importance of integrative taxonomy to an accurate identification and characterization of avian haemosporidian parasites.
ISSN:0022-3395
1937-2345
DOI:10.1645/16-189