Hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) in wild boars, hunting dogs, and hunters from two Brazilian regions

One Health at gunpoint: Impact of wild boars as exotic species in Brazil - A review

Wild boars have been listed among the 100 most invasive species worldwide, spreading impacts to all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. In Brazil, a major source of introduction was a commercial livestock importation for exotic meat market, followed by successive escapes and releases to natural ecosystems. Currently found in all six Brazilian biomes, with reports in 11 Brazilian states, wild boars have invaded natural and agricultural areas. Wild boars have been reportedly indicated as hosts and reservoirs of several zoonotic diseases in Brazil, including toxoplasmosis, salmonelosis, leptospirosis, brucellosis, tuberculosis, trichinellosis, and hepatitis E. Wild boars have been also associated with Brazilian spotted fever and rabies, infected while providing plentiful exotic blood supply for native ticks and hematophagous bats. Due to their phylogenetic proximity, wild boars may present ecological niche overlapping and direct disease risk to native white-lipped and collared peccaries. Moreover, wild boars may post an economical threat to Brazilian livestock industry due to restrictive diseases such as Aujeszky, enzootic pneumonia, neosporosis, hemoplasmosis, and classic swine fever. Finally, wild boars have directly impacted in environmentally protected areas, silting up water springs, rooting and wallowing native plants, decreasing native vegetal coverage, disbalancing of soil components, altering soil structure and composition. Wild boar hunting has failed as a control measure to date, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, due to private hunting groups mostly targeting males, intentionally leaving females and piglets alive, disseminating wild boar populations nationwide. Meanwhile, non-government animal welfare organizations have pointed to animal cruelty of hunting dogs and wild boars (and native species) during hunting. Despite unanimous necessity of wild boar control, eradication and prevention, methods have been controversial and should focus on effective governmental measures instead occasional game hunting, which has negatively impacted native wildlife species while wild boars have continuously spread throughout Brazil.

Molecular detection of vector-borne agents in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and associated ticks from Brazil, with evidence of putative new genotypes of Ehrlichia, Anaplasma and hemoplasmas

The present study aimed to investigate, by molecular techniques, the occurrence of Anaplasmataceae, Bartonellaceae, Rickettsiaceae, Mycoplasmataceae, Coxiellaceae e Babesiidae/Theileriidae agents in blood samples of free-living wild boars (Sus scrofa) and associated ticks in southeastern Brazil. For this purpose, 67 blood samples and 265 ticks (264 Amblyomma sculptum and one A. ovale) were analyzed. In the screening for Anaplasmataceae agents by a PCR assay based on the 16S rRNA gene, 5.97% blood samples and 50.54% ticks were positive. In the PCR assay for Ehrlichia spp. based on the dsb gene, 9.24% of ticks were positive. Despite the low occurrence, a possible new 16S rRNA genotype of Anaplasma sp. was detected in a wild boar's blood sample. According to phylogenetic analyses based on the groEL, gltA, sodB genes and ITS (23S-5S rRNA) intergenic region, it was found that A. sculptum and A. ovale ticks collected from wild boars carry Ehrlichia genotypes phylogenetically associated with E. ewingii, E. ruminantium, and new Ehrlichia genotypes previously detected in horses, peccaries, and ticks collected from jaguars. In the screening for hemoplasmas by a qPCR based on the 16S rRNA gene, 88.06% of blood samples and 8.69% of ticks were positive. Mycoplasma suis, M. parvum and a possible new hemoplasma genotype were detected in wild boars in southeastern Brazil. In the screening for Bartonella spp. using a nuoG-based qPCR assay, 3.8% of tick samples were positive. Phylogenetic inferences positioned four nuoG and one r gltA Bartonella sequences into the same clade as Bartonella machadoae. No blood or tick samples from wild boars showed to be positive in the qPCR for Coxiella burnetii based on the IS1111 gene. On the other hand, only 1.6% of ticks was positive in the nested PCR assay for piroplasmids based on the 18S rRNA gene. A 18S rRNA sequence detected in a pool of A. sculptum nymphs was phylogenetically close to Cytauxzoon felis sequences previously detected in cats from the United States. Rickettsia sp. closely related to R. bellii was detected in a pool of A. sculptum nymphs. This is the first report of hemoplasmas, B. machadoae and Cytauxzoon spp. in A. sculptum. Wild boars and associated ticks do not seem to participate in the epidemiological cycle of C. burnetii in the region studied. This invasive mammal species may act as a potential disperser of ticks infected with Ehrlichia spp., Bartonella spp., hemotropic mycoplasmas, and Cytauxzoon, and may bring important epidemiological implications in the transmission of bartonelosis, ehrlichiosis, hemoplasmosis, and cytauxzoonosis to humans and animals, more specifically to horses, rodents, pigs, and cats. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Molecular detection and genotype diversity of hemoplasmas in non-hematophagous bats and associated ectoparasites sampled in peri-urban areas from Brazil

Hemoplasmas have already been detected in bats in the United States of America, Spain, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Belize, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Germany, Switzerland and New Caledonia. The recent detection of hemoplasmas closely related to Mycoplasma haematohominis, an agent causing disease in humans, emphasizes the need for additional studies on the diversity of hemoplasmas in bats. The present work aimed to investigate the occurrence and assess the phylogenetic positioning and genetic diversity of hemoplasmas in bats and associated ectoparasites sampled in central-western Brazil. Overall, 43% (58/135) sampled bats and 1.56% (1/64) bat flies (Megistopoda aranea) were positive for hemoplasmas, however, twenty-four and two hemoplasma sequences were obtained from PCR assays targeting 16S and 23S rRNA genes, respectively, since the majority of the obtained amplicons showed faint bands in agarose gel electrophoresis. The obtained 16S rRNA sequences showed to be broadly distributed along the phylogenetic tree, albeit positioned within the 'Haemofelis group' and clustering with other bat-associated hemoplasmas. Twelve 16S rRNA hemoplasma genotypes were found among the 24 obtained sequences. When compared to other bat-related hemoplasmas sequences retrieved from the Genbank, 52 genotypes were found. The two 23S rRNA sequences obtained were positioned as a sister clade to "Candidatus Mycoplasma haematohydrochaerus", M. haemofelis and M. haemocanis. High genetic diversity was found among 16S rRNA hemoplasma sequences detected in non-hematophagous bats from central-western Brazil and previously detected in other regions of the world. Even though the genotype analysis showed that hemoplasmas from the same genus tend to group together, the results from the unipartite and bipartite analyses did not robustly support the hypothesis. Further studies addressing the specificity of hemoplasma genotypes according to bat species and genera should be performed.