From Intact to Highly Degraded Mitochondrial Genes in <i>Trypanosoma vivax</i>: New Insights into Introduction from Africa and Adaptation to Exclusive Mechanical Transmission in South America
Herakles A. Garcia,
Adriana C. Rodrigues,
Carla M. F. Rodrigues,
Andrea S. Florentin,
Angélica M. Bethencourt,
Armando Reyna-Bello,
María Augusta Chávez-Larrea,
Carlos L. Pereira,
Zacharia Bengaly,
Desie Sheferaw,
Agapitus B. Kato,
Fernando Paiva,
Erney F. P. Camargo,
Marta M. G. Teixeira
Affiliations
Herakles A. Garcia
Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Adriana C. Rodrigues
Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Carla M. F. Rodrigues
Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Andrea S. Florentin
Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Formosa, Formosa 3600, Argentina
Angélica M. Bethencourt
Faculty of Veterinary Science, Central University of Venezuela, Maracay 1050, Venezuela
Armando Reyna-Bello
Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Humana (GISAH), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida y la Agricultura, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, P.O. Box 171-5-231, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador
María Augusta Chávez-Larrea
Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Humana (GISAH), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida y la Agricultura, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, P.O. Box 171-5-231, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador
Carlos L. Pereira
National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Maputo 1196, Mozambique
Zacharia Bengaly
Centre International of Recherche-Développement sur l’Élevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Dioulasso 01 BP 454, Burkina Faso
Trypanosoma vivax displays distinct mitochondrial genomes: intact in Africa and degraded in South America. This finding, formerly reported from four isolates, suggested an association between mitochondrial mutations and adaptation to exclusive mechanical transmission outside Africa, circumventing mitochondrial activity essential for cyclical transmission by tsetse flies. Here, we characterized the mitochondrial ND7 and COIII genes in 25 South American isolates of T. vivax from livestock from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, as well as in 11 African isolates from Mozambique, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso from tsetse flies, antelopes, and cattle. Phylogenetic inference supported the lineages TVV (Trypanosoma vivax vivax) and TVL (Trypanosoma vivax-like), predominant in South America/West Africa and East Africa, respectively. Both ND7 and COIII genes were intact in all African TVV and TVL isolates and, for the first time, in 10 South American isolates from Brazil. Remaining South American isolates exhibited some degree of gene erosion, including ~142 bp deletion at the 3′ end of ND7 disclosed in Venezuela and Colombia, ~163 bp deletion at the 3′ end of ND7 in Brazil and Argentina, and ~750 bp deletion from the 5′ end of ND7 to the 3′ end of COIII in Venezuela. Comprehensive analyses of whole mitochondrial genomes from additional South American and African isolates are crucial for formulating reliable hypotheses regarding the origin, absence, and rapid mitochondrial degradation observed in South American T. vivax.
