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Observation of Giardia sp. in the termite gut of Heterotermes tenuis

  • Protozoology - Short Communication
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Abstract

Giardia comprises one genus with several morphologically distinct species described in mammals (including humans, marsupials, rodents), birds, and amphibians. This group of protists provokes diarrhoea diseases in humans and animals worldwide. Transmission of the parasite occurs through the faecal-oral route. Regarding the presence of Giardia in invertebrates, some works have shown that flies can transmit Giardia cysts by contact and transport between contaminated faeces and food. In this way, flies would eventually transmit this parasite. To date, Giardia’s presence in the gut of other invertebrates has not been described in the literature. Here we show by first time, using scanning electron microscopy, the presence of Giardia-like trophozoites in the gut of termite Heterotermes tenuis. Two groups of Giardia were found based exclusively on the size and the flange shape of the protozoa: one presented eight flagella, a ventral disc, size, and shape very similar to Giardia intestinalis. In contrast, other cells were smaller and showed some differences in the external morphology. We cannot exclude the possibility that they correspond to the same species and that these differences result from protozoan heterogeneity.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Brazilian agencies Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-CNPq, and Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Grant E-26/202.824/2017. Special thanks to the Centro de Pesquisas da Petrobrás/CENPES and Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás natural e Biocombustíveis/ANP that supported the initial studies with termites and Dr. Fernando Genta for collecting the termites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNIGRANRIO – Universidade do Grande Rio, Rua Professor José de Souza Herdy, 1160 - Jardim Vinte e Cinco de Agosto, Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, 25071-202, Brazil

    Marlene Benchimol

  2. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho-Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, UFRJ – Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Marlene Benchimol

  3. Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagens (CENABIO), UFRJ – Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Wanderley de Souza

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  1. Marlene Benchimol
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  2. Wanderley de Souza
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Correspondence to Marlene Benchimol.

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Benchimol, M., de Souza, W. Observation of Giardia sp. in the termite gut of Heterotermes tenuis. Parasitol Res 120, 1131–1135 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07060-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07060-8

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