Evaluation of the Taxonomic Status of Lesser Egyptian Jerboa, Jaculus jaculus: First Description of New Phylogroups in Tunisia.

The taxonomy of the Lesser Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus (J.) jaculus (Dipodinae subfamily), was recently reevaluated, and the taxonomic status was defined by the presence of two cryptic species, J. jaculus (Linnaeus 1758) and J. hirtipes (Lichtenstein, 1823), with a higher genetic divergence in the sympatric North African populations than in other studied parapatric populations. Using phylogenetic analysis of the cytochrome b (Cytb) gene from 46 specimens, we confirmed the new status in Tunisia; rodents were collected from two different biotopes belonging to the same locality at the ecological level (mountainous vs. Saharan) in the south of the country. The study of the eye lens weight of these specimens allowed the definition of a cutoff value (58.5 g), categorizing juveniles from adults. Moreover, this study confirmed the phylotaxonomic status of J. jaculus in Tunisia, as recently illustrated, into two distinct species, J. jaculus and J. hirtipes, and recorded for the first time the presence of two phylogroups among each of these rodent species. The lack of clear micro-geographical structure and biotope specificity between the two rodent species and their phylogroups was also highlighted.

Natural infection of Ctenodactylus gundi by Leishmania major in Tunisia.

Incriminating new rodent species, as reservoir hosts of Leishmania parasites is crucial for understanding the transmission cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Tunisia. Ctenodactylus (C.) gundi was previously described as extremely abundant in all Tunisian Leishmania (L.) tropica foci in south Tunisia besides its presence in L. major endemic area. The aim of this study was to detect Leishmania species parasites among C. gundi in two endemic regions in Tunisia: Sidi Bouzid and Tataouine. Total DNA was isolated from the spleens and the livers of 92C. gundi. Leishmaniasis clinical manifestations were detected among 11 rodents (12%). Leishmania parasites were detected in 30 (32.6%) rodents using direct exam method. Leishmania DNA was detected in 40 (43.5%) C. gundi by combining results among spleens and livers using ITS1-PCR. Positive samples were confirmed to be L. major except for only one specimen which was L. tropica. These results demonstrated, for the first time, the high natural infection rate of C. gundi with L. major parasites in Tunisia. Hence, C. gundi should be considered as potential reservoir host of Leishmania parasites causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in Tunisia.