Sarcocystis sp. infection (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) in invasive California kingsnake Lampropeltis californiae (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Gran Canaria

Invasive species pose a threat not only to biodiversity because they displace or compete with native fauna, but also because of the pathogens they can host. The Canary Islands are an Atlantic biodiversity hotspot threatened by increasing numbers of invasive species, including the California kingsnak...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2022-09, Vol.149 (11), p.1419-1424
Main Authors: Santana-Hernández, Kevin M., Javorská, Kristýna, Rodríguez-Ponce, Eligia, Fecková, Barbora, Šlapeta, Jan, Modrý, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Apicomplexa
Biodiversity
Biodiversity hot spots
Colubridae - parasitology
Ecosystem
Ethanol
Feces
Infections
Introduced species
Invasive species
Lampropeltis
Lizards
Lizards - parasitology
Maximum likelihood method
Muscles
Nonnative species
Parasites
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Prey
Sarcocystidae
Sarcocystis
Sarcocystosis - epidemiology
Snakes
Spain - epidemiology
Sporocysts
Vertebrates
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Summary:Invasive species pose a threat not only to biodiversity because they displace or compete with native fauna, but also because of the pathogens they can host. The Canary Islands are an Atlantic biodiversity hotspot threatened by increasing numbers of invasive species, including the California kingsnake Lampropeltis californiae, which was recently introduced to Gran Canaria. Seventy-seven snakes were examined for gastrointestinal parasites in 2019–2020. Sporocysts of Sarcocystis sp. were detected in 10 of them; detection of gamogonia stages in histological sections of 3 snakes confirmed the snake as a definitive host. Partial ssrDNA was amplified using SarcoFext/SarcoRext primers; an additional sequence of Sarcocystis was obtained from the tail muscle of the endemic Gran Canaria giant lizard Gallotia stehlini for a comparison. Identical ssrDNA sequences of unknown Sarcocystis sp. were obtained from 5 different snakes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Sarcocystis sp. isolated from invasive California kingsnakes is unrelated to Sarcocystis provisionally considered S. stehlini from the endemic lizard. The dixenous coccidia are rarely reported to invade new predator–prey systems. However, the present data suggest that previously unknown Sarcocystis sp. is circulating among invasive snakes and as yet unknown vertebrate intermediate hosts, with undetermined consequences for the Gran Canaria ecosystem.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182022000841