A novel Babesia sp. of the "Western Babesia group", detected in opossums from Guatemala.

Babesia spp. are tick-borne protozoans that involve birds and mammals in their transmission cycles and cause babesiosis, a severe hemolytic malaria-like disease. Opossums of the genus Didelphis are recognized hosts of tick-borne pathogens. Therefore, exploring tick-borne agents in Didelphis species is important to understand the circulation of pathogens in areas where opossums occur. In this study, we targeted Anaplasmataceae, Babesia, Borrelia and Hepatozoon DNA in ticks, blood and organ samples collected from three hunted Didelphis marsupialis specimens in eastern Guatemala. While the samples were negative for Hepatozoon and bacterial DNA, sequences of Babesia 18S rDNA, cox1 and cytb genes were retrieved from two opossums. Ticks collected on the animals included Amblyomma parvum and an undetermined Ornithodoros sp. The Babesia sp. detected in this study (Babesia sp. THB1-2) clusters phylogenetically within the "Western Babesia group", which includes pathogenic species such as Babesia conradae, Babesia duncani, and Babesia negevi. Our results represent the first record of a Babesia sp. in Guatemala and highlight the importance of D. marsupialis as potential spreaders of ticks and pathogens in Central America.

Wild deer (Pudu puda) from Chile harbor a novel ecotype of Anaplasma phagocytophilum.

BACKGROUND: Deer species play an important role in the enzootic cycles of several Anaplasma species. While in the Northern Hemisphere ticks of genus Ixodes are well recognized vectors of these intracellular bacteria, less is known regarding the biological cycles of Anaplasma spp. in South America. METHODS: Using PCR protocols and Sanger sequencing, we assessed the presence of Anaplasma spp. in blood and ticks collected on a native deer species (Pudu puda) from southern Chile. RESULTS: Based on phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA, gltA and groEL genes and calculation of average sequence divergence for groEL, our results bring to light a novel genovariant of Anaplasma phagocytophilum (named strain "Patagonia"). The strain represents a novel ecotype within the A. phagocytophilum species complex and was detected in both P. puda and their ticks. Using a larger matrix, denser taxon sampling and outgroup, our maximum-likelihood- and Bayesian-inferred phylogenies for groEL provide an accurate picture of the topology of A. phagocytophilum ecotypes and their evolutionary relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of an ecotype of A. phagocytophilum in South America. Our results provide novel insight into the genetic diversity and ecology of this complex of bacterial lineages. Further studies should elucidate the enzootic cycle of A. phagocytophilum strain "Patagonia" and assess its pathogenic potential for pudues, domestic animals and humans in the region.

A search for piroplasmids and spirochetes in threatened pudu (Pudu puda) and associated ticks from Southern Chile unveils a novel Babesia sp. and a variant of Borrelia chilensis.

Cervids are important hosts for ticks and although they are refractory to some tick-borne agents such as Borrelia, they do act as reservoirs for others such as Babesia. Babesia and Borrelia are commonly transmitted by Ixodes spp. associated with deer, and most of the knowledge on their biological cycles comes from northern latitudes of the globe. In this study, we performed genetic screenings to detect tick-borne agents in blood and Ixodes stilesi ticks collected from an insular population of threatened pudu (Pudu puda), a pygmy deer species that inhabits temperate rainforests of southern South America. Inferred by phylogenetic analyses for 18S rRNA, COI and cytb genes, our results unveiled a novel genospecies of Babesia (Babesia sp. pudui) genetically related to Babesia odocoilei, a species that infects Odocoileus virginianus deer in North America. Although blood of the deer was negative for Borrelia infection, multilocus sequencing typing performed in one I. stilesi tick revealed the occurrence of a novel genetic variant of Borrelia chilensis, differing 0.93% and 0.18% in flaB and pepX genes with the type of strain for the species, respectively. Such a genetic divergence could be the result of thousands of years of isolation because of recent glaciation events that separated pudus and their tick populations at Chiloé Island approximately 437,000 years ago. The finding of a Babesia sp. has no precedents for wild and domestic ungulates in Chile and shows a novel piroplasmid that must be considered now on in rehabilitation centres and zoos that attend pudu deer. Further research is now necessary to confirm pathogenic roles.