Leucocytozoon cariamae n. sp. and Haemoproteus pulcher coinfection in Cariama cristata (Aves: Cariamiformes): first mitochondrial genome analysis and morphological description of a leucocytozoid in Brazil
Lis Marques de C. Vieira,
Pedro Henrique O. Pereira,
Daniel Ambrózio da Rocha Vilela,
Irène Landau,
M. Andreína Pacheco,
Ananias A. Escalante,
Francisco C. Ferreira,
Érika Martins Braga,
L. C. Ranford-Cartwright
Affiliations
Lis Marques de C. Vieira
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Pedro Henrique O. Pereira
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Daniel Ambrózio da Rocha Vilela
Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres, Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais não Renováveis, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Irène Landau
Muséum Nation d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR7245, Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, Paris, France
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Schubot Center for Avian Health, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
The distribution of avian haemosporidians of the genus Leucocytozoon in the Neotropics remains poorly understood. Recent studies confirmed their presence in the region using molecular techniques alone, but evidence for gametocytes and data on putative competent hosts for Leucocytozoon are still lacking outside highland areas. We combined morphological and molecular data to characterize a new Leucocytozoon species infecting a non-migratory red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata), the first report of a competent host for Leucocytozoon in Brazil. Leucocytozoon cariamae n. sp. is distinguished from the Leucocytozoon fringillinarum group by its microgametocytes that are not strongly appressed to the host cell nucleus. The bird studied was coinfected with Haemoproteus pulcher, and we present a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis based on nearly complete mitochondrial genomes of these 2 parasites. Leucocytozoon cariamae n. sp. morphology is consistent with our phylogenetic analysis indicating that it does not share a recent common ancestor with the L. fringillinarum group. Haemoproteus pulcher and Haemoproteus catharti form a monophyletic group with Haemocystidium parasites of Reptilia, supporting the polyphyly of the genus Haemoproteus. We also discussed the hypothesis that H. pulcher and H. catharti may be avian Haemocystidium, highlighting the need to study non-passerine parasites to untangle the systematics of Haemosporida.
