Litomosoides brasiliensis (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) infecting chiropterans in the Legal Amazon region, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Costa,Thaliane França
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Coutinho,Danielle Jordany Barros, Simas,Ana Karoline Sousa Mendes, Santos,Gabriella Vieira dos, Nogueira,Rita de Maria Seabra, Costa,Francisco Borges, Barros,Maria Claudene, Fraga,Elmary da Costa, Costa,Andréa Pereira da
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-29612022000400304
• topic: Nematoda; bats; filariids; Brazil

Abstract Chiropterans play an important role in the maintenance of the environmental balance, since they are pollinators, seed dispersers and predators. They contribute to transmission and spreading of microorganisms such as helminths, fungi, protozoa, bacteria and virus. The aim of the present study was to investigate natural filariid infection among bats in the Legal Amazon region, Brazil, by means of parasitological and molecular analyses. Blood samples were collected from 82 bats for blood smears and for DNA extraction via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Microfilariae were observed in blood smears from Carollia perspicillata (2), Artibeus lituratus (1), Artibeus fimbriatus (2), Dermanura gnoma (2) and Glossophaga soricina (1). Five positive samples were detected through the PCR assay and four of these were also positive in blood smears. From genome sequencing and comparative analysis with sequences deposited in GenBank, one sample showed 99.31% similarity to the species Litomosoides brasiliensis. The present study expands the geographical distribution of L. brasiliensis, to include the state of Maranhão as an area of occurrence of this species and includes D. gnoma and A. fimbriatus as hosts in Brazil.