A new species of mammalian trypanosome, Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) bubalisi sp. nov., found in the freshwater leech Hirudinaria manillensis

Int J Parasitol. 2021 Dec 1:S0020-7519(21)00316-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.10.009. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLeeches have long been considered potential vectors for the aquatic lineage of trypanosomes, while bloodsucking insects are generally considered as the vectors for the terrestrial lineage of trypanosomes. The freshwater leech, Hirudinaria manillensis, is a widely distributed species in southern China and could potentially act as the vector for trypanosomes. Prior to this study, no trypanosomes had been reported from this leech. However, in this study, leeches were collected from three different places in Guangdong province, China, and a large number of flagellates were isolated and successfully cultured in vitro. Based on morphology, these flagellates looked like a typical trypanosome species. Analysis was carried out on the molecular sequences of the 18S rRNA gene and the glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) gene. To our surprise, these flagellates were identified as likely to be a mammalian trypanosome belonging to the clade containing Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri but they are significantly different from the typical TthI and TthII stocks. Analyses of blood composition indicated that the source of the blood meal in these leeches was from the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). To further test if this flagellate from the freshwater leech was indeed a mammalian trypanosome, we transferred the trypanosomes cultured at 27°C to 37°C an...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Source Type: research