Is Haemoproteus gabaldoni a valid species? An approach from morphology and molecular tools applied to parasites of Anseriformes.

Currently, there are three recognized species of haemoproteids infecting Anseriformes: Haemoproteus nettionis, H. macrovacuolatus, and H. greineri. Unfortunately, genetic information associated with a morphotype is available only for H. macrovacuolatus. We recently found a parasite morphologically compatible with Haemoproteus gabaldoni, a species Bennet (1993) described in a Cairina moschata (Muscovy duck) from Venezuela. This species was synonymized to H. nettionis by Valkiūnas (2005), arguing not enough morphological differentiation between them; it was said that H. greineri could be as well a synonym of H. nettionis. In this study, we aimed to provide evidence to determine if Haemoproteus gabaldoni is a different species of H. nettionis and help to clarify other species status. We first performed morphological and morphometrical analyses and compared this information against the parahapantotypes of H. greineri, H. gabaldoni and material diagnosed as H. nettionis provided by the International Reference center for Avian Haematozoa (IRCAH), and H. macrovacuolatus from the Host-Parasite Relationship Study Group (GERPH, in Spanish Grupo de Estudio Relación Parásito Hospedero) biological collection. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of dimensionless standard morphometrical variables from gametocytes. Furthermore, we amplified a small fragment of cytochrome b (cyt b) to compare the sequence with information in GenBank and Malavi through phylogenetic analyses and haplotype networks. PCA analyses revealed the presence of three distinct groups in the samples studied, supported in the morphological traits of each parasite species analyzed; phylogenetic analyses grouped parasite lineages separately according to the host and continent of provenance. Such results indicate that, H. gabaldoni, is a different species from H. nettionis. One more time, it is demonstrated the importance of linking barcode surveys to morphological studies. Finally, it is highlighted the importance of biological collections as repositories of worldwide biodiversity.