Parasitology International最新文献

{"title":"Immunoprophylactic potential of parasite-derived antigens for controlling Lernaea cyprinacea infection in Ctenopharyngodon idella","authors":"Amana Shafiq,&nbsp;Farzana Abbas,&nbsp;Muhammad Hafeez-ur-Rehman,&nbsp;Muhammad Imran Rashid","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103193","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Lernaea cyprinacea,</em> an invasive ectoparasitic copepod, poses a significant threat to freshwater aquaculture due to its high pathogenicity and association with severe epizootics leading to mass fish mortalities. The present study evaluated the immunogenic potential of parasite-derived antigens in <em>Ctenopharyngodon idella</em> (grass carp) as a immunoprophylactic strategy against <em>L. cyprinacea</em> infection. Crude antigens isolated from <em>L. cyprinacea</em> were administered intraperitoneally to the experimental group, whereas the control group received phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and a naturally infected group received no treatment. Immunological and physiological responses were assessed through hematological profiling, quantification of protein and assessment of non-specific immune parameters, including protease and lysozyme activities, at defined post-immunization intervals. After 28 days of immunization, fish were experimentally challenged with live <em>L. cyprinacea</em> to evaluate protective efficacy. Immunized fish demonstrated significant improvements in hematological indices, with serum protein concentrations comparable to uninfected controls but markedly higher than those of infected fish, reflecting enhanced immune competence. Lysozyme activity exhibited a consistent and significant elevation, surpassing both control groups and indicating potentiation of innate immune defenses. Similarly, enhanced protease activity at post-immunization suggested acute immune activation. Challenge trials confirmed a notable reduction in parasite load among immunized fish, underscoring the protective efficacy of antigen-based immunization. These findings highlight <em>L. cyprinacea-</em>derived antigens as a promising immunoprophylactic strategy for sustainable lernaeosis control in freshwater aquaculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103193"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145476886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Frequency of Entamoeba gingivalis and trichomonas tenax with hematological and immunological changes among human","authors":"Manal Adil Murad","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103192","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103192","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Background: <em>Entamoeba gingivalis</em> and <em>Trichomonas tenax</em> are mouth parasites cause periodontitis and gingivitis. They are common in people having poor oral hygiene. The aim of this study is to assess the rate of <em>E.gingivalis</em> and <em>T.tenax</em>, associated risk factors, and examine their effects on blood indices, interleukin 2 (IL-2), and interleukin 4 (IL-4) among participants. Material and Methods: A total of 600 subjects were recruited, including 325 males and 275 females. Oral swabs and blood samples were collected, the swabs were cultured to diagnose the parasites, while blood samples used to measure the blood parameters, IL-2, and, IL-4 among individuals. Results: The overall prevalence of <em>E. gingivalis</em> and <em>T. tenax</em> 31.6 % and 16.7 %, respectively. The maximum infection was recorded among males, rural residents, those aged 35–54 years, and of primary education, 58.6 %, 51.0 %, 44.8 %, and 37.9 %. Significant decrease was noted in red blood cells count, hemoglobin concentrations, and platelets count. While a significant increase was observed in white blood cells, neutrophils, and the levels of IL-2 and IL-4 in patients compared to the control group. Conclusion: The patients should be screened for blood analysis to get early therapy. Further studies are needed to confirm these outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103192"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145471688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Iron Superoxide Dismutase (Fe-SODe) as a sensitive antigenic marker for serodiagnosis of Leishmania spp. in urban schoolchildren of Central Mexico","authors":"María Elena Villagrán-Herrera ,&nbsp;Javier Ávila Morales ,&nbsp;Carmen Aburto-Fernández ,&nbsp;Daiyé Molinet-Solorzano ,&nbsp;Cesar Antonio Campos Ramírez ,&nbsp;Norma Hernández-Camacho ,&nbsp;Nelly Jovana Pasten-Castrejón ,&nbsp;José Alejandro Martínez-Ibarra ,&nbsp;Salvador Zamora Ledesma","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103191","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103191","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Leishmaniasis remains a neglected tropical disease with significant diagnostic challenges due to serological cross-reactivity with other trypanosomatids. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of Iron Superoxide Dismutase (Fe-SODe), an excreted enzyme from <em>Leishmania</em> spp., as a specific antigen in detecting anti-<em>Leishmania</em> antibodies in school-aged children from urban areas of Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico. A total of 131 blood samples were analyzed using ELISA and Western blot assays with Fe-SODe from L. <em>mexicana, L. braziliensis</em>, and L. <em>infantum</em>. ELISA-FeSODe revealed seroprevalences of 22.1 % (<em>L. mexicana</em>), 14.5 % (<em>L. braziliensis</em>), and 9.9 % <em>(L. infantum</em>), while Western blot confirmed slightly higher rates. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA-FeSODe ranged from 82.4 % to 98.5 % and 95.6 % to 100 %, respectively. The Fe-SODe ELISA and IEF immunoblot demonstrated high specificity without detectable cross-reactivity with other kinetoplastids, supporting Fe-SODe as a robust species-specific antigen for serodiagnosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103191"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145452554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climatic factors and their impact on cutaneous Leishmaniasis: Predicting the number of patients using ARIMA model","authors":"Behrad Pourmohammadi ,&nbsp;Fatemeh Shahsavan ,&nbsp;Fatemeh Paknazar ,&nbsp;Monireh Manavi ,&nbsp;Farin Fatemi","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103185","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103185","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a zoonotic disease transmitted through phlebotomine sandfly bites. Identifying factors influencing and predicting the disease incidence is crucial. This study aimed to investigate the impact of climatic factors on CL incidence and predict patient numbers in Damghan County. In this study, we collected CL cases data from the Damghan County Health Network on monthly and annual basis from 2012 to 2021. Climatic data were obtained from the Meteorological Organization, the Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management, and the National Statistics Center of Iran. Data analysis was performed using SPSS – 22 and R - 4.3.1 to examine significant relationships between climatic variables and CL incidence, as well as to predict the number of patients in the coming years. The findings revealed significant correlations between CL incidence and several climatic factors, including air pressure (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), relative humidity (P &lt; 0.001), sunshine hours (<em>P</em> = 0.002), maximum temperature (<em>P</em> = 0.003), average temperature (<em>P</em> = 0.005), minimum temperature (<em>P</em> = 0.006), precipitation (<em>P</em> = 0.022), and maximum wind speed (<em>P</em> = 0.029.). Additionally, the ARIMA model predicted approximately 370 and 180 patients in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The annual incidence of CL can be largely attributed to seasonal and annual climatic variations. This highlights the necessity of implementing sandfly control measures before the onset of summer when conditions become optimal for the disease outbreak. Also, predicting the possible number of people suffering from the disease in the coming years can play an effective role in planning for the prevention and control of the disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103185"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145426997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elucidation of the life cycle of Galactosomum nagasakiense (Heterophyidae), the causative parasite of trematode whirling disease in marine fish, with discovery of congeneric species in the gastropod first intermediate host Cerithium dialeucum","authors":"Yukitaka Sugihara ,&nbsp;Ryoma Iwasaki ,&nbsp;Haruki Miyazaki ,&nbsp;Sho Shirakashi ,&nbsp;Naoki Itoh ,&nbsp;Tomoyuki Nakano ,&nbsp;Tsuyoshi Takano ,&nbsp;Kazuo Ogawa","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103190","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103190","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Trematode whirling disease (TWD), caused by <em>Galactosomum nagasakiense</em> (Heterophyidae), affects a wide range of wild and cultured marine fish, with occasional mass mortalities reported in aquaculture since the 1960s. Fish serve as the second intermediate host, while the black-tailed gull <em>Larus crassirostris</em> has been identified as the definitive host. However, the first intermediate host has remained unidentified for decades. Field surveys were conducted in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, an endemic region of TWD, aiming to identify the gastropod first intermediate host. Among 1341 snails sampled, trematode infections were detected in 15 individuals of the cerithiid snail, <em>Cerithium dialeucum</em> (n = 798, prevalence = 1.9 %). Three morphologically distinct types of magnacercous cercariae were isolated from <em>C. dialeucum,</em> and molecular analysis confirmed that all types belonged to the genus <em>Galactosomum</em>. The nuclear ITS2 and 28S rDNA sequences of the most prevalent type (detected in 11 out of the 15 infected <em>C. dialeucum</em>) were 100 % identical to sequences obtained from metacercariae found in the brain of TWD-affected fish, confirming its identity as <em>G. nagasakiense</em>. The remaining two types were assigned to the genus <em>Galactosomum</em> based on both morphological and genetical characteristics but could not be identified to the species level. Morphological descriptions of the cercaria and redia of <em>G. nagasakiense</em> are provided. The cercariae exhibited strong positive phototaxis and swam actively using a long, unforked tail. A single infected snail released up to 3000 cercariae per day. This study identifies, for the first time, the first intermediate host of <em>G. nagasakiense</em>, thereby completing the elucidation of its life cycle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103190"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145392212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A pseudokinase pPK4 is required for efficient red blood cell invasion and exflagellation center formation in Plasmodium yoelii","authors":"Edwin Kimeli Too ,&nbsp;Thant Zin Tun ,&nbsp;Nattawat Chaiyawong ,&nbsp;Takahiro Ishizaki ,&nbsp;Minami Baba ,&nbsp;Hassan Hakimi ,&nbsp;Masahito Asada ,&nbsp;Kazuhide Yahata ,&nbsp;Osamu Kaneko","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103187","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103187","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human malaria, caused by the parasite <em>Plasmodium</em>, is a global health burden, with an estimated 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths in 2023 (WHO, 2024). In vertebrate hosts, malaria parasites multiply by recurrent invasion of the red blood cells (RBCs). Within RBCs, some asexual parasites undergo sexual differentiation to become gametocytes. After a female mosquito ingests a blood meal, micro- and macrogametocytes egress from RBCs and fertilize within the mosquito's midgut. Pseudokinases are a class of proteins that resemble typical kinases, but cannot catalyze phosphorylation reactions. Several <em>Plasmodium</em> pseudokinases have high transcript levels at both the schizont and sexual stages and may play critical roles within both junctures of the lifecycle. We previously reported that one pseudokinase, pPK1, is involved in invading RBCs, as well as exflagellation center formation, using the rodent malaria parasite <em>Plasmodium yoelii</em>. In the present study, we characterized two additional pseudokinases in <em>P. yoelii</em>, pPK3 and pPK4. Both pseudokinases have high transcript levels at the schizont and gametocyte stages; however, pPK3 transcripts are more abundantly detected in macrogametocytes than in microgametocytes. The pattern of pPK4 expression was opposite, with more abundant transcripts observed in microgametocytes. Immunofluorescence assay of transgenic parasites expressing Myc-tagged pPK4 revealed that pPK4 appeared to be expressed in the cytoplasm of schizonts and sexual stages. <em>P. yoelii</em> pPK3 knockout (KO) lines showed no significant growth defects in mice and no significant reduction in the number of oocysts following transmission to mosquitoes. However, the <em>P. yoelii</em> pPK4-KO lines exhibited a significant defect in growth, decreased virulence in mice, and a significant reduction in the number of oocysts in mosquitoes. An <em>in vivo</em> RBC invasion assay for pPK4-KO lines revealed that invasion, but not egress, was affected. There were no significant differences in gametocytemia and egress from RBC for either micro- or macrogametes; however, there was a significant reduction in the number of exflagellation centers. Thus, we conclude that pPK4 plays an important role in RBC invasion and exflagellation center formation. In contrast, pPK3 is not essential in the blood stage and subsequent parasite lifecycle development up to the oocyst stage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103187"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145416508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dual transcriptome analyses of a non-healing chronic Leishmania donovani infection in mice","authors":"Yasuyuki Goto ,&nbsp;Junya Yamagishi","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103189","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103189","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus <em>Leishmania</em> and is characterized by clinical manifestations including fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and anemia. We previously developed a non-healing chronic model of experimental VL, using BALB/c mice infected with <em>Leishmania donovani</em>, which manifest hepatosplenomegaly, leukopenia, and anemia. In mice, it is widely accepted that immune responses in the spleen and liver do not necessarily occur in parallel during experimental VL. This implies that <em>Leishmania</em> parasites may also exhibit different gene expression patterns in these distinct tissues. In this study, we performed dual transcriptome analyses of the spleen and liver from <em>L. donovani</em>-infected BALB/c mice to characterize tissue-specific responses of both the host and the parasite. Two independent transcriptome analyses with high reproducibility revealed tissue-specific expression patterns of host genes during <em>L. donovani</em> infection. For example, <em>Pdilt</em> was upregulated in the spleen but downregulated in the liver, whereas <em>Marco</em> displayed the opposite pattern. By contrast, gene expression patterns of <em>L. donovani</em> amastigotes were relatively conserved between the spleen and liver. These results suggest that tissue-specific host immune responses play a critical role in driving tissue-specific pathology, whereas they have limited influence on parasite gene expressions in this non-healing model of experimental VL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103189"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145416506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular analysis of Cryptosporidium species in Western Australian human populations (2023–2025), and the emergence of rare C. hominis IeA11G3T3 subtype","authors":"Sugandika Bulumulla ,&nbsp;Amanda Ash ,&nbsp;Una Ryan ,&nbsp;Barry Combs ,&nbsp;Andrew Larkins ,&nbsp;Nevada Pingault ,&nbsp;Damien Bradford ,&nbsp;Amanda D. Barbosa","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Cryptosporidium</em> species are an important cause of diarrhoeal disease worldwide. Many countries reported declines in cryptosporidiosis incidence during COVID-19 restrictions, followed by marked increases post-COVID. A similar pattern has been observed in Australia, with record-high case numbers reported across multiple states in 2024–2025, including Western Australia (WA), where an outbreak occurred in 2025. Between 1st January – 30th June 2025, WA reported a statewide total of 1110 human cryptosporidiosis cases, which is substantially higher than the previous years. In the present study, a subset of WA cases from 2025 was investigated using contact tracing and molecular typing and compared with subtypes circulating in 2023 and 2024. Sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA and <em>gp60</em> loci identified three <em>Cryptosporidium</em> species: <em>C. hominis</em> (91.5 %, 108/118), <em>C. parvum</em> (6.8 %, 8/118), and <em>C. meleagridis</em> (1.7 %, 2/118), comprising 13 distinct subtypes, over the three years. Notably, a previously rare <em>C. hominis</em> subtype, IeA11G3T3, emerged in 2023 and by 2025 had become the dominant subtype (92.1 %, 70/76) of samples typed. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) of a representative subset of IeA11G3T3 isolates (<em>n</em> = 13) showed that all sequences were identical, except for one isolate from 2024, which contained three insertions: an 18-bp repeat in the <em>cp-47</em> gene and both a 12-bp and a 6-bp repeat in the <em>dz-hrgp</em> gene. The <em>C. hominis</em> IeA11G3T3 subtype has also recently emerged as a dominant subtype in several other countries, although the factors driving its emergence remain unclear.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103188"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145355628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Insecticidal effects of essential oils from traditional repellent plants on Aedes mosquitoes, vectors of arboviral diseases in Gabon","authors":"Cédric Sima Obiang ,&nbsp;Judicaël Obame-Nkoghe ,&nbsp;Bob Eudes Mewani Mya Moua ,&nbsp;Morel Essono Mintsa ,&nbsp;Joefred Mbogho Abogho ,&nbsp;Herman Begouabe ,&nbsp;Noé Essono Kollo ,&nbsp;Juliette Ornely Orango Bourdette ,&nbsp;Hervé Martial Ekomy ,&nbsp;Joseph Privat Ondo ,&nbsp;Louis Clément Obame Engonga","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The overuse of synthetic insecticides has led to widespread resistance among insect populations. Consequently, the use of plant-derived essential oils with insecticidal properties presents a viable alternative. This study aims to evaluate the larvicidal and adulticidal potential of essential oils against Aedes mosquitoes, as well as to analyze their chemical composition.</div><div><em>Aedes aegypti</em> (L.) and <em>Aedes albopictus</em> (Skuse) mosquitoes, reared from collected eggs, were used in the experiments. Plant leaves and resin were harvested in south-eastern Gabon, in the Franceville region. Larvicidal activity was assessed following standard World Health Organization (WHO) protocols, and the chemical profiles of the essential oils were determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). For adulticidal testing, mosquitoes were exposed for three minutes to netting treated with essential oils, following the WHO cone bioassay method.</div><div>The essential oils exhibited larvicidal activity against both mosquito species, with LC₅₀ values ranging from 2.09 ± 0.30 to 72.44 ± 3.00 ppm. When nets were treated at a dose of 165 μg/cm², knockdown times (KDT₅₀) ranged from 1.07 ± 0.20 to 416.87 ± 18.50 s, and the highest observed mortality rate was 40 %. In <em>Cymbopogon citratus</em> essential oil, the predominant compounds were α-Citral (78.70 %) and β-Myrcene (12.71 %), while <em>Aucoumea klaineana</em> essential oil was mainly composed of α-Phellandrene (33.15 %), α-Pinene (29.30 %), and β-Cymene (10.65 %).</div><div>This research highlights the potential of essential oils as sustainable alternatives to synthetic insecticides, offering new prospects for vector control and the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases, with a direct impact on public health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103183"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145313447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversity of Bartonella spp. in bat-associated Streblidae flies from Brazil","authors":"Gabrielly de Oliveira Lopes ,&nbsp;Eder Barbier ,&nbsp;Allyson dos Santos da Silva ,&nbsp;Lorena Freitas das Neves ,&nbsp;Lizeth Fernanda Banguero Micolta ,&nbsp;Eliz Oliveira Franco ,&nbsp;Wallace Rodrigues Telino Júnior ,&nbsp;Luiz Augustinho Menezes da Silva ,&nbsp;Rosangela Zacarias Machado ,&nbsp;Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti ,&nbsp;Jaqueline Bianque de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Marcos Rogério André","doi":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103186","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.parint.2025.103186","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Streblide flies are obligatory ectoparasites with a worldwide distribution, specialized in exclusively parasitizing bats, which serve as important reservoirs of <em>Bartonella</em> spp. These flies are considered potential vectors of emerging <em>Bartonella</em> species. Despite the high diversity of both bats and streblid flies in Brazil, little is known about the occurrence and genetic diversity of <em>Bartonella</em> spp. in these hosts, particularly in cave environments. This study investigated the occurrence and genetic diversity of <em>Bartonella</em> spp. in streblid flies associated with bats from humid forest remnants in Pernambuco state (558 flies from 12 species collected from 299 bats) and from caves in Pará state (677 flies from 11 species collected from 174 bats). Fly DNA samples positive for the endogenous <em>cox-1</em> gene were screened by qPCR targeting the intergenic region 16S-23S rRNA of <em>Bartonella</em> spp., followed by molecular characterization using five genetic markers (<em>gltA, rpoB, ribC, pap-31,</em> and <em>ftsZ</em>). The overall positivity rates for <em>Bartonella</em> spp. were 37.5 % in Pernambuco and 25.4 % in Pará. Although molecular detection was achieved in both regions, successful genetic characterization was only possible for flies collected from cave-dwelling bats in the Brazilian Amazon. These analyses revealed a high genetic diversity of <em>Bartonella</em> spp., with the identification of 11 <em>gltA</em> genotypes, six <em>ftsZ</em> genotypes, and four <em>rpoB</em> genotypes. Phylogenetic inferences based on these three markers demonstrated close relationships between the sequences detected in this study and genotypes previously reported in bats and bat flies from Brazil and other countries. This study provides the first molecular evidence of <em>Bartonella</em> spp. in streblid flies parasitizing cave-dwelling bats in Brazil, highlighting new perspectives for interspecific interaction studies (<em>Bartonella</em>–fly–bat) in these understudied ecosystems. Furthermore, this work reports, for the first time in Pará state, <em>Bartonella</em> spp. in <em>Nycterophilia parnelli, Trichobius galei, Mastoptera minuta,</em> and <em>Trichobius johnsonae.</em></div></div>","PeriodicalId":19983,"journal":{"name":"Parasitology International","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 103186"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145313487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}