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A 50-year-old redescription: molecular and morphometric characterization of Hepatozoon carinicauda Pessôa and Cavalheiro, 1969 in the brown-banded water snake Helicops angulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2022

Fabiane R. de Paula Open the ORCID record for Fabiane R. de Paula [Opens in a new window] ,
Amanda M. Picelli Open the ORCID record for Amanda M. Picelli [Opens in a new window] ,
Lívia Perles ,
Marcos R. André  and
Lúcio A. Viana Open the ORCID record for Lúcio A. Viana [Opens in a new window]
Fabiane R. de Paula*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical, Universidade Federal do Amapá (UNIFAP), Macapá, AP, Brazil Laboratório de Estudos Morfofisiológicos e Parasitários, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, UNIFAP, Macapá, AP, Brazil
Amanda M. Picelli
Affiliation:
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Fiocruz Rondônia, Porto Velho, RO, Brazil Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Experimental, Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Porto Velho, RO, Brazil
Lívia Perles
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Patologia, Reprodução e Saúde Única, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
Marcos R. André
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Patologia, Reprodução e Saúde Única, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
Lúcio A. Viana
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical, Universidade Federal do Amapá (UNIFAP), Macapá, AP, Brazil Laboratório de Estudos Morfofisiológicos e Parasitários, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, UNIFAP, Macapá, AP, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Fabiane R. de Paula, E-mail: fabianerp.ap@gmail.com
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Abstract

The combined use of molecular and microscopic techniques has become an increasingly common and efficient practice for the taxonomic and evolutionary understanding of single-celled parasites such as haemogregarines. Based on this integrative approach, we characterized Hepatozoon found in Helicops angulatus snakes from the Eastern Amazonia, Brazil. The gamonts observed caused cell hypertrophy and were extremely elongated and, in some cases, piriform (mean dimensions: 25.3 ± 1.9 × 8.6 ± 1.3 μm). These morphological features correspond to Hepatozoon carinicauda, described 50 years ago in the snake Helicops carinicaudus in the southeast region of Brazil. Phylogenetic and genetic divergence analyses, performed with the sequence obtained from the amplification of a 590 bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene, revealed that Hepatozoon in He. angulatus differed from the other lineages retrieved from GenBank, and was clustered singly in both the phylogenetic tree and the haplotype network. The integration of these data allowed the identification of H. carinicauda in a new aquatic host, and increased the knowledge of its geographical distribution. Therefore, the present study included the first redescription of a Hepatozoon species in a snake from the Brazilian Amazon.

Keywords

Haemogregarinesmolecular descriptionneotropical snakestaxonomy18S rRNA
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 149 , Issue 11 , September 2022 , pp. 1468 - 1478
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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