Abstract
Borrelia theileri is a tick-borne spirochete causative agent of fever, apathy and reduced food consumption in cattle. Molecular diagnosis has expanded the understanding of Borrelia theileri with new hosts and geographical locations being described. The present study aimed to describe the first molecular detection of B. theileri in wild tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) from South America. Blood DNA samples obtained from 99 tapirs sampled in Pantanal (n = 61) and Cerrado (n = 38) biomes were screened using a qPCR assay based on the 16 S rRNA gene of Borrelia sp. Positive samples in the qPCR assay were subjected to PCR assays to allow characterization of fragments from 16 S rRNA and flaB genes. Two (2/99; 2.0%) animals from Pantanal biome were positive in the qPCR and one sample presented bands of expected size for the flaB protocol. Amplicons from this sample were successfully cloned and sequenced. In the phylogenetic analysis, Borrelia sp. from T. terrestris grouped together with B. theileri sequences previously detected in Rhipicephalus microplus ticks and cattle from Minas Gerais State in Brazil, Rhipicephalus geigyi from Mali, and R. microplus and Haemaphysalis sulcata from Pakistan. This finding contributes to our knowledge regarding susceptible hosts species for B. theileri. More studies are necessary to understand the potential effects of B. theileri on tapir’s health.
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Data availability
The dataset generated and analyzed during the current study is available in the NCBI GenBank Nucleotide platform (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) and can be accessed through accession number: PP259188.
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Acknowledgements
This study is part of Anna Mongruel’s PhD thesis. She is carrying out her research at Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária—Universidade Estadual Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP/Jaboticabal) and is sponsored by a fellowship from Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP– Process #2019/26403-0) at the time of this study. Authors would like to thank the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI)–Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ) for kindly providing the biological samples needed for the present study. The study of tapir health has been an important component of the long-term activities of the LTCI-IPÊ in Brazil. The LTCI has the institutional support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Tapir Specialist Group (TSG), Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Tapir Taxon Advisory Group (TAG), and European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). This work was supported by FAPESP - Process #2020/12037-0 and #2022/08543-2) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; Productivity Grant to MRA - Process #303701/2021-8).
Funding
Anna Mongruel is sponsored by a fellowship from Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP – Process #2019/26403-0) at the time of this study. This work was supported by FAPESP - Process #2020/12037-0 and #2022/08543-2) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; Productivity Grant to MRA - Process #303701/2021-8). LTCI’s financial support comes from national and international agencies, including zoological institutions, foundations, private businesses, and private individuals.
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Authors Contribution statement Anna Claudia Baumel Mongruel: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing. Emília Patrícia Medici: Methodology, Conceptualization, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing. Ariel da Costa Canena: Methodology, Writing – Review & Editing. Rosangela Zacarias Machado: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. Keith Clay: Methodology, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision. Marcelo Bahia Labruna: Writing – Review & Editing. Marcos Rogério André: Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision.
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The study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Experimentation of FCAV/UNESP (Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences of the São Paulo State University) under protocol number 4558/20. The “Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBIO)” provided the required annual permits for the capture and immobilization of tapirs and collection of biological samples (SISBIO# 14,603). All protocols for the capture, anesthesia, handling, and sampling of tapirs have been reviewed and approved by the Veterinary Advisors of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — Tapir Taxon Advisory Group (TAG), and the Veterinary Committee of the IUCN SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG). Tapir blood DNA samples from the present study were registered in the Brazilian National System for Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Sistema Nacional de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético e do Conhecimento Tradicional Associado – SISGEN) under register number AE4CC0C.
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Mongruel, A.C.B., Medici, E.P., da Costa Canena, A. et al. First molecular detection of Borrelia sp. in tapirs (Tapirus terrestris). Vet Res Commun (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10406-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10406-z