Guimarães Lilian de Oliveira, Simões Roseli França, Chagas Carolina Romeiro Fernandes, Menezes Regiane Maria Tironi de, Silva Fabiana Santos, Monteiro Eliana Ferreira, Holcman Marcia Moreira, Bajay Miklos Maximiliano, Pinter Adriano, Camargo-Neves Vera Lucia Fonseca de, Kirchgatter Karin
Superintendence for Endemic Disease Control, SUCEN, São Paulo SP 01027-000, Brazil.
Institute of Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo SP 05403-000, Brazil.
Insects. 2021 Mar 3;12(3):215. doi: 10.3390/insects12030215.
Avian malaria parasites are widespread parasites transmitted by Culicidae insects belonging to different genera. Even though several studies have been conducted recently, there is still a lack of information about potential vectors of parasites, especially in Neotropical regions. Former studies with free-living and captive animals in São Paulo Zoo showed the presence of several and species. In 2015, a pilot study was conducted at the zoo to collect mosquitoes in order to find out (i) which species of Culicidae are present in the study area, (ii) what are their blood meal sources, and (iii) to which species might they be potential vectors. Mosquitoes were morphologically and molecularly identified. Blood meal source and haemosporidian DNA were identified using molecular protocols. A total of 25 Culicidae species were identified, and 6 of them were positive for / DNA. Ten mosquito species had their source of blood meal identified, which were mainly birds, including some species that were positive for haemosporidian parasites in the former study mentioned. This study allowed us to expand the list of potential vectors of avian malaria parasites and to improve our knowledge of the evolutionary and ecological relationships between the highly diverse communities of birds, parasites, and vectors present at São Paulo Zoo.
禽疟原虫是由不同属的蚊科昆虫传播的广泛存在的寄生虫。尽管最近已经进行了多项研究，但关于寄生虫潜在传播媒介的信息仍然匮乏，尤其是在新热带地区。之前在圣保罗动物园对自由放养和圈养动物进行的研究表明存在几种[未明确的物种名]物种。2015年，在该动物园开展了一项试点研究来收集蚊子，以便弄清楚：（i）研究区域存在哪些蚊科物种；（ii）它们的血餐来源是什么；（iii）它们可能是哪些[未明确的物种名]物种的潜在传播媒介。通过形态学和分子学方法对蚊子进行了鉴定。使用分子学方案鉴定了血餐来源和血孢子虫DNA。总共鉴定出25种蚊科物种，其中6种对[未明确的物种名]/DNA呈阳性。确定了10种蚊子的血餐来源，主要是鸟类，包括在前述研究中血孢子虫寄生虫呈阳性的一些物种。这项研究使我们能够扩充禽疟原虫潜在传播媒介的清单，并增进我们对圣保罗动物园中高度多样化的鸟类、寄生虫和传播媒介群落之间进化和生态关系的了解。
