Chagas Carolina Romeiro Fernandes, Monticelli Cauê, Lima Caio Filipe da Motta, Ramos Patrícia Locosque
P. B. Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Wildlife Coordination, Secretariat for the Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics (CFS/Semil), Av. Prof. Frederico Hermann Jr. 345, São Paulo 05454-010, Brazil.
Pathogens. 2024 Sep 18;13(9):806. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13090806.
Parasites are key players in ecosystems, influencing population sizes and food webs, yet the impact of environmental factors on their diversity is not well understood. The Atlantic rainforest in Brazil, particularly the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (PEFI), exemplifies a biodiversity hotspot facing significant deforestation, housing diverse animal species such as the synanthropic Brazilian common opossum (), which serves as a reservoir for multiple zoonotic pathogens. In this study, we investigated parasite diversity, abundance, prevalence, and richness in free-living in the PEFI, São Paulo, Brazil. From January 2015 to January 2017, 101 fecal samples of were collected in two areas of PEFI, at the Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais (IPA) and the Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia (Cientec), and analyzed using three different parasitological methods. In total, 99% of the samples were positive for at least one parasite. The most prevalent parasite belonged to the order Strongylida (82%), followed by sp. (77%), the latter having a significantly higher prevalence at IPA. In contrast, Acanthocephala showed greater prevalence at Cientec. Co-infections were common, with some individuals harboring up to seven different parasites. Our findings reveal significant parasite diversity in the population at PEFI, including both helminths and protozoan trophozoites, some of which are reported for the first time in this host species. Further research is essential for accurate species identification of the observed parasites.
寄生虫是生态系统中的关键角色，影响着种群数量和食物网，然而环境因素对其多样性的影响尚未得到充分理解。巴西的大西洋雨林，特别是伊皮兰加泉州立公园（PEFI），是一个面临严重森林砍伐的生物多样性热点地区，这里栖息着多种动物物种，比如与人类共生的巴西普通负鼠（），它是多种人畜共患病原体的宿主。在本研究中，我们调查了巴西圣保罗PEFI地区自由生活的[物种名称缺失]体内的寄生虫多样性、丰度、患病率和丰富度。2015年1月至2017年1月期间，在PEFI的两个区域，即环境研究所（IPA）和科技公园（Cientec），采集了101份[物种名称缺失]的粪便样本，并使用三种不同的寄生虫学方法进行分析。总体而言，99%的样本至少对一种寄生虫呈阳性反应。最常见的寄生虫属于圆线虫目（82%），其次是[物种名称缺失]属（77%），后者在IPA的患病率显著更高。相比之下，棘头虫在Cientec的患病率更高。混合感染很常见，有些个体体内携带多达七种不同的寄生虫。我们的研究结果揭示了PEFI地区[物种名称缺失]种群中存在显著的寄生虫多样性，包括蠕虫和原生动物滋养体，其中一些是首次在该宿主物种中被报道。对观察到的寄生虫进行准确的物种鉴定，进一步的研究至关重要。
