Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária (Feb 2021)

Sarcocystidae in wild birds of southeastern Brazil

  • Wagner Martins Fontes do Rêgo,
  • Júlia Gatti Ladeia Costa,
  • Ramon Castro de Araujo Baraviera,
  • Lorena Velozo Pinto,
  • Gabriella de Lima Bessa,
  • Rosálida Estevam Nazar Lopes,
  • Julia Angelica Gonçalves da Silveira,
  • Ricardo Wagner Almeida Vitor

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-296120201094
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 30, no. 1

Abstract

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Abstract This study aimed to identify members of the Sarcocystidae family in naturally infected wild birds at a rescue center in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The heart and brain of 44 wild birds were evaluated by bioassay in mice to detect T. gondii, and extracted DNA was used for nested PCR of the 18S ribosomal DNA gene to detect members of the Sarcocystidae family. The positive samples were sequenced, assembled, edited and compared with sequences deposited in GenBank. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from six (13.6%) out of 44 birds. Toxoplasma gondii DNA was identified in 10/44 (22.7%) of the birds. The amplified sequences exhibited 100% similarity with the DNA of the ME49 strain of T. gondii. Sarcocystis DNA (99% similarity) was identified in 5/44 (11.4%) of the birds. T. gondii and Sarcocystis spp. are common in wild birds in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

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