Leishmania spp. (Trypanosomatida: Trypanosomatidae) em Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1840 (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) no Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Leishmania is a flagellate protozoan, heteroxene, which belongs to the Trypanosomatidae family and Trypanosomatida order. It is known more than 30 species of Leishmania that can cause Cutaneous Leishmaniasis or Visceral Leishmaniasis. Approximately 70 species of mammals, including humans, are considered vertebrate hosts for Leishmania worldwide. One of them are the marsupials of the family Didelphidae, which are considered important reservoirs for the maintenance of the disease in the environment. This work aim was to investigate the presence of Leishmania spp. in Didelphis albiventris from the southernmost of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, through molecular diagnosis. Fifty specimens of D. albiventris were collected, DNA from spleen and perianal glands extracted and 18S ribosomal DNA amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction. Seventeen opossuns (34%) were considered positive from PCR amplification. After sequencing, data were compared to GenBank to establish similarity between sequences as well as to differentiate them from other species. It was confirmed that the studied sequences belonged to the Leishmania genus through Neighbor-joining and Maximum Likelihood analyzes. The highest identity was with L. panamensis, L. brasiliensis, and L. guyanensis, which are related to Cutaneous Leishmaniasis transmission. The presence of Leishmania spp. in wild reservoirs indicates that it is possible for the parasite cycle to continue in the region having important implications for the installation of epidemiological surveillance of the parasite.