Molecular characterization of Babesia and Cytauxzoon species in wild South-African meerkats

Piroplasms, including Babesia, Cytauxzoon and Theileria species, frequently infect domestic and wild mammals. At present, there is no information on the occurrence and molecular identity of these tick-borne blood parasites in the meerkat, one of South Africa's most endearing wildlife celebritie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2015-04, Vol.142 (4), p.543-548
Main Authors: LECLAIRE, SARAH, MENARD, SANDIE, BERRY, ANTOINE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Wild
Babesia
Babesia - classification
Babesia - genetics
Babesiosis - parasitology
Carnivora - parasitology
DNA, Protozoan - chemistry
DNA, Protozoan - genetics
DNA, Protozoan - isolation & purification
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - chemistry
Ectoparasites
Livestock
Pathogens
Phylogeny
Piroplasmia
Piroplasmida - classification
Piroplasmida - genetics
Protozoan Infections, Animal - parasitology
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S - genetics
South Africa
Theileria
Wildlife
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Summary:Piroplasms, including Babesia, Cytauxzoon and Theileria species, frequently infect domestic and wild mammals. At present, there is no information on the occurrence and molecular identity of these tick-borne blood parasites in the meerkat, one of South Africa's most endearing wildlife celebrities. Meerkats live in territorial groups, which may occur on ranchland in close proximity to humans, pets and livestock. Blood collected from 46 healthy meerkats living in the South-African Kalahari desert was screened by microscopy and molecular methods, using PCR and DNA sequencing of 18S rRNA and ITS1 genes. We found that meerkats were infected by 2 species: one species related to Babesia sp. and one species related to Cytauxzoon sp. Ninety one percent of the meerkats were infected by the Cytauxzoon and/or the Babesia species. Co-infection occurred in 46% of meerkats. The pathogenicity and vectors of these two piroplasm species remains to be determined.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182014001504