Abstract
Several species of horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) are known as vectors of Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri and T. theileri-like trypanosomes; these host–parasite relationships were established based on the developmental stages of these parasites discovered in the hindgut of horse flies. T. theileri and T. theileri-like trypanosomes have been detected in cattle and wild deer in Japan; however, the vector horse fly species remains unidentified. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to identify the potential horse fly species serving as vectors of T. theileri in Japan. A total of 176 horse flies were collected between June to September 2020 and 2021 in Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. The T. theileri infection in the captured horse flies was determined by PCR and microscopic analyses of their midgut and hindgut. Additionally, the trypanosome, microscopically detected in a horse fly, was molecularly characterized and phylogenetically analyzed using 18S rRNA and partial cathepsin L-like protein gene (CATL) sequence of the trypanosome. The microscopy and PCR analyses revealed 0.57% and 35.8% prevalence of T. theileri in horse flies, respectively. Epimastigote stages of T. theileri, adhered to the hindgut epithelial cells of Tabanus chrysurus via flagella or actively moving in the lumen of the gut, were detected. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the connection of isolated trypanosomes with T. theileri in the TthI clade. These results suggest that Ta. chrysurus is a potential vector of T. theileri.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the farmers for their support in collecting horse flies for this study. We thank Dr. Takeo Yamauchi, the Obihiro University of Agriculture for the technical advice on the identification of horse flies. We also thank Ms. Lee Seungyeon, Mr. Hong Yujong, and Mr. Yuta Okuno for their support in the collection and identification of horse flies. This study was financially supported by the Ito Foundation and Osimo Foundations.
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This study was financially supported by the Ito Foundation and Osimo Foundations.
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Conceptualization: KS, EA. Investigation: EA, AE, KS. Data curation: EA, AE, KS. Writing original draft: KS. Writing—review and editing: KS, EA, AE, AM, SK, and NI. Funding acquisition: KS.
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This study was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (approval number: 21–2).
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436_2024_8196_MOESM2_ESM.pdf
Supplementary Fig. 1 Images of horse flies captured in this study.(1) Whole body, (2) head, (3) abdomen, (4) a single wing of (A) Chrysops japonicus, (B) C. suavis, (C) Haematopota tristis, (D) Tabanus chrysurus, (D) Ta. kinoshitai, (E) Ta. nipponicus, (F) Ta. rufidens, (G) and (H) Ta. sapporoenus. (PDF 953 KB)
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Suganuma, K., Anma, E., Elata, A. et al. Tabanus chrysurus is a potential biological vector of Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri in Japan. Parasitol Res 123, 174 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08196-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08196-z