Haemosporidian parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida) in bats and hematophagous flies from Brazil: diversity and phylogeny

Abstract

Blood parasites of the order Haemosporida, such as Plasmodium, which causes malaria, as well as their possible vectors, are the focus of many studies in evolutionary biology and biodiversity analysis. However, there is a lack of molecular studies of haemosporidians, such as Polychromophilus, described mainly in bats in the old world, in wild animals on the American continent. Recent studies by our group have described the presence of Polychromophilus, providing the first molecular information on these parasites in Myotis riparius and Eptesicus diminutus, widely distributed in different Brazilian biomes, and Myotis ruber, an endangered species. The detection of Polychromophilus was confirmed by amplifying the clpc gene from the parasite's apicoplast. Also in this study, a sequence of a new lineage of Haemosporida sp. was found in a sample of Noctilio albiventris collected in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, indicating that more than one genus or species may be circulating in the Brazilian Chiroptera fauna. In this study, 1,000 samples will be analysed, divided into blood and tissues (liver, spleen, kidney and brain tissue) from bats collected in remnant fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon, as well as urbanized areas in southern, southeastern and northern Brazil. In addition, 300 specimens of hematophagous flies collected from bats in the state of São Paulo in the regions of Legado das Águas in Juquitiba and the Coordenadoria de Fauna Silvestre/SP will be analyzed for the presence of haemosporidians. Molecular tests will be carried out using PCR of: (i) the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome b (cytb); (ii) the apicoplast gene, caseinolytic protease C (clpC); and (iii) the nuclear gene, adenylosuccinate lyase (asl). The flies will be identified morphologically and through DNA Barcoding targeting the mitochondrial coI gene. Morphological observations concomitant with molecular studies are crucial to comprehensively elucidate the taxonomic characteristics of these haemosporidian species and genera. Additionally, it is essential to investigate the potential vectors that play a role in the dissemination of these parasites.