First identification and molecular phylogeny of Sparganum proliferum from endangered felid (Panthera onca) and other wild definitive hosts in one of the regions with highest worldwide biodiversity

Arrabal, J. P., Perez, M. , Arce, L. F. and Kamenetzky, L. (2020) First identification and molecular phylogeny of Sparganum proliferum from endangered felid (Panthera onca) and other wild definitive hosts in one of the regions with highest worldwide biodiversity. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 13, pp. 142-149. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.09.002) (PMID:33083226) (PMCID:PMC7554206)

Abstract

After decades of being neglected, broad tapeworms now attract growing attention thanks to the increasing number of reports from humans but also thanks to many advancements achieved by application of molecular methods in diagnosis and epidemiological studies. Regarding sparganosis, unfortunately general uniformity of most species, their high intraspecific variability and lack of agreement among researchers has led to confusion about the classification of Spirometra/Sparganum species. For the first time we determined adult, eggs and plerocercoid life cycle stages and the molecular phylogeny of Sparganum proliferum obtained from endangered wild felids (Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus guttulus and Herpailurus yagoauroundi) in one of the largest continuous remnants of worldwide biodiversity, the Atlantic Forest from South America. Our results showed that at least 57% of total species of wild felids in this natural area could act as definitive hosts of Sparganum proliferum. We conclude that the availability of more morphological characteristics are needed in order to secure reliable characterization and diagnosis of sparganosis. The integration of these data with molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences will be useful for species discrimination.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Perez, Dr Matias
• Authors: Arrabal, J. P., Perez, M., Arce, L. F., and Kamenetzky, L.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
• Publisher: Elsevier on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology
• ISSN: 2213-2244
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology