Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad, Universidad Andrés Bello, 440 República Avenue, Santiago 8370136, Chile.
PhD Program in Conservation Medicine, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, 252 República Avenue, Santiago 8370136, Chile.
J Wildl Dis. 2024 Oct 1;60(4):874-885. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-23-00118.
Toxoplasma gondii, a parasitic protozoan, may infect most warm-blooded animals, including humans and carnivores. Our study focused on alien-invasive American minks (Neogale vison) and domestic cats (Felis catus) in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, Chile. The main goal was to investigate the relationship between their dietary habits and T. gondii exposure in the Valdivia River watershed. To detect T. gondii exposure, blood serum samples from 49 domestic cats and 40 American minks were analyzed using an ELISA, and stable isotope analysis of δ15N and δ13C from vibrissae was performed to determine the dietary habits of both species. Relationships between T. gondii exposure and dietary habits were explored using generalized linear mixed-effects models. American minks that were T. gondii seropositive exhibited a broader prey range compared to seropositive domestic cats, with minimal dietary overlap between the two groups. Exposure of domestic cats to T. gondii had no significant association with any isotope value or prey item in their diet. In American minks, we found a positive and significant association between the proportion of Domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) in the diet and high δ15N values with T. gondii exposure. This suggests that domestic species prey related to anthropogenic areas, and the consumption of high-trophic-level prey, may contribute to T. gondii exposure in American minks. Conversely, contrary to previous hypotheses, consumption of rodents showed no significant association with T. gondii exposure in either species. Our findings emphasize the importance of further research to investigate trophic interactions in the transmission dynamics of T. gondii in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest.
刚地弓形虫是一种寄生的原生动物，可能感染包括人类和肉食动物在内的大多数温血动物。我们的研究集中在智利瓦尔迪维亚温带雨林中的外来入侵的美洲水貂（Neogale vison）和家猫（Felis catus）上。主要目标是研究它们的饮食习惯与瓦尔迪维亚河流域弓形虫暴露之间的关系。为了检测弓形虫暴露，我们使用 ELISA 分析了 49 只家猫和 40 只美洲水貂的血清样本，并对触须中的 δ15N 和 δ13C 进行了稳定同位素分析，以确定这两个物种的饮食习惯。我们使用广义线性混合效应模型探索了弓形虫暴露与饮食习惯之间的关系。与弓形虫血清阳性的家猫相比，弓形虫血清阳性的美洲水貂的猎物范围更广，两组之间的饮食重叠最小。家猫的弓形虫暴露与饮食中的任何同位素值或猎物都没有显著关联。在美洲水貂中，我们发现饮食中 Domestic chicken（Gallus gallus domesticus）的比例与 T. gondii 暴露之间存在正相关关系，且 δ15N 值较高。这表明与人为区域相关的家养物种的猎物以及高营养级别的猎物的消费可能导致美洲水貂的弓形虫暴露。相反，与之前的假设相反，在这两个物种中，食用啮齿动物与弓形虫暴露没有显著关联。我们的发现强调了进一步研究的重要性，以研究在瓦尔迪维亚温带雨林中弓形虫传播动态中的营养相互作用。
