Molecular detection of Bartonella sp. In wild felids kept in captivity

Abstract

The Bartonella, an emerging zoonosis, is caused by intracellular bacteria belonging to the genus Bartonella, which are highly adapted to intracellular persistence in a wide variety of animals, including humans. But the cats are an important reservoir of several species of Bartonella. The hot and humid climate of Brazil favors the development of one of its main vectors among cats, the flea (Ctenocephalides felis). Few studies have been conducted in Brazil with regard to the epidemiology and molecular characterization of Bartonella. This study aims to accomplish the molecular detection of parasite in blood samples from wild felids kept in captivity in Brazil zoos. For this purpose, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based on intergenic region (ITS) of 16S-23S ribosomal RNA, in 31-pap gene (heme-binding protein gene), the ²-subunit gene of RNA polymerase (rpoB) and genes ribC and gltA (citrate synthase) wiil be used to detection the parasite. Still, the positive samples will be sequenced and the identity of those will be validated and confronted with sequences previously deposited in GenBank.