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Sarcocystis spp. infection in South American deer huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and pudu (Pudu puda) from Patagonian National Parks, Argentina

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Abstract

Sarcocystis spp. are intracellular protozoan parasites with heteroxenous life cycles. This study described Sarcocystis spp. infection in adult South American native deer huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and pudu (Pudu puda). Heart, diaphragm, tongue, and skeletal muscle samples were collected from 5 huemuls and 2 pudus, found dead in National Parks. Direct microscopic examination, transmission electron microscopy, PCR, and sequencing were performed. Sarcocystis spp. microscopic thin-walled cysts were identified in 3 huemuls and 1 pudu. Several cysts from 1 huemul and 1 pudu were observed by TEM; ultrastructure was similar to previously reported as cyst wall type 17 and types 2 and 8, respectively. Fragments of the 18S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) genes were amplified and sequenced from 3 individual cysts from 2 huemuls and 2 cysts from the pudu. The sequences from huemuls showed a high identity among them (> 99%) at both amplified targets. The highest identities were > 99.7% at 18S rRNA and 93% at cox1 with S. tarandivulpes sequences. The 18S rRNA gene sequences from pudus showed an identity > 99.7% with Sarcocystis sp., S. taeniata, and S. linearis sequences, while the cox1 sequences were different, one showing 99.42% identity with S. venatoria and the other 98.22% with S. linearis. A single species, similar to S. tarandivulpes, was identified in all huemul samples while 2 molecularly different Sarcocystis spp. were found in 1 pudu with high similarities to either S. venatoria or to S. linearis, S. taeniata-like, and S. morae. Based on the cox1 sequence identities, at least the Sarcocystis sp. in huemuls might represent a new species, primarily occurring in this host. Additional sarcocyst isolates from both hosts need to be examined molecularly in order to firmly establish whether these species are indeed native to huemuls and/or pudus or are derived from introduced deer species.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Isidoro Ercoli for outstanding technical assistance during laboratory work. The authors also thank the Argentinean National Park Administration (APN) for allowing the sampling collection in huemul and pudu carcass. This work had the APN research permission (no. 721, no. 1339).

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Rufford Small Grant for Nature Conservation, Rufford Foundation (RSG 3802-07, 5738-1, 15445-B), United Kingdom; partial funding to achieve molecular studies was obtained through grant PICT2016-3117 from Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Argentina. E Chang Reissig and G Moré are Career Members of the Argentinean National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET); E Helman is a PhD candidate and has a CONICET doctoral fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Department, Institute of Forest and Agriculture Research Bariloche (IFAB, CONICET-INTA), Agricultural Experimental Station of the National Institute of Agriculture and Technology (EEA-INTA Bariloche), Modesta Victoria 4455, (8400), San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina

    Elizabeth Chang Reissig

  2. Argentinean National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, CABA (C1425FQB), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Elizabeth Chang Reissig, Elisa Helman & Gastón Moré

  3. Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata, PO Box 296, (1900), La Plata, Argentina

    Elisa Helman & Gastón Moré

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  1. Elizabeth Chang Reissig
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  2. Elisa Helman
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  3. Gastón Moré
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Correspondence to Gastón Moré.

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Figure S1.

Neighbor-Joining consensus phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic tree based on an alignment of 29 Sarcocystis spp. cox1 sequences performed with GENEIOUS software (Version R9), using a Tamura-nei genetic distance model and no out-group. Sequences from huemuls and pudus obtained in the present study are in bold. Branch consensus support is expressed as % from 1000 bootstraps (PDF 107 kb)

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Reissig, E.C., Helman, E. & Moré, G. Sarcocystis spp. infection in South American deer huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and pudu (Pudu puda) from Patagonian National Parks, Argentina. Parasitol Res 119, 3915–3922 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06889-9

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