Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
Parasitol Res. 2011 Oct;109(4):1189-92. doi: 10.1007/s00436-011-2376-6. Epub 2011 May 24.
Few molecular studies have been done concerning the molecular characterization of Hepatozoon species among domestic and wild felids. The present work aimed to characterize molecularly the presence of Hepatozoon sp. DNA in cat blood samples from São Luís Island, Maranhão state, Northeastern Brazil. EDTA-whole blood samples were collected from 200 domestic cats with outdoor and wood areas access from São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. Each sample of extracted DNA was used as a template in PCR reactions aiming to amplify a partial sequence of 18S rRNA of Hepatozoon spp. We also performed sequence alignment to establish the identity of the parasite species infecting these animals using DNA sequences based on 18S rRNA. From 200 sampled cats, Hepatozoon DNA was only found in one animal (0.5%). The found Hepatozoon DNA showed 97% of identity with Hemobartonella felis isolates 1 and 2 from Spain. When analyzing the phylogenetic tree, the found Hepatozoon DNA was in the same clade than H. felis isolates. Our findings suggest that more than one species of Hepatozoon could infect felids in Brazil.
针对巴西东北部马拉尼昂州圣路易斯岛的家猫和野生猫科动物中肝血孢子虫属物种的分子特征，目前仅有少数分子研究。本研究旨在从巴西圣路易斯岛的 200 只具有户外活动和林地接触史的家猫采集 EDTA 全血样本，对肝血孢子虫属 DNA 的存在进行分子特征分析。从提取的 DNA 每个样本中，使用 PCR 反应作为模板，旨在扩增肝血孢子虫属 18S rRNA 的部分序列。我们还进行了序列比对，使用基于 18S rRNA 的 DNA 序列确定感染这些动物的寄生虫种类的身份。在 200 只采样猫中，仅在一只动物（0.5%）中发现了肝血孢子虫 DNA。发现的肝血孢子虫 DNA 与来自西班牙的 1 和 2 号亨氏巴尔通体的 Hepatozoon DNA 具有 97%的同一性。在分析系统发育树时，发现的肝血孢子虫 DNA 与亨氏巴尔通体属分离株位于同一进化枝。我们的研究结果表明，巴西可能有不止一种肝血孢子虫可以感染猫科动物。
