Maia Leticia Mendes Pupio, Cerqueira Aloysio de Mello Figueiredo, de Barros Macieira Daniel, de Souza Aline Moreira, Moreira Namir Santos, da Silva Adrianna Vieira, Messick Joanne Belle, Ferreira Renata Fernandes, Almosny Nádia Regina Pereira
Departamento de Patologia e Clínica Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. 2013 Apr-Jun;22(2):289-91. doi: 10.1590/S1984-29612013000200049.
This article describes the first detection of Cytauxzoon felis, using molecular techniques, in a naturally infected domestic cat from Brazil, South America. Coinfection with 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' was also found. The molecular identification of the piroplasmid species was performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing analysis. A 284 pb fragment of the gene encoding the 18S ribosomal RNA region was amplified and showed 99% identity with other C. felis strains from North America. In addition, PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis, which amplifies a 595 bp fragment of the gene encoding 16S ribosomal RNA of some bacterial species, identified the co-infecting species as 'Candidatus M. haemominutum'.
