1. Hepatozoon caimani in Caiman crocodilus yacare (Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) from North Pantanal, Brazil
- Author
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Andréa Bouer, Marcos Rogério André, Luiz Ricardo Gonçalves, Mayara de Cássia Luzzi, Juliana Paula de Oliveira, Adriana Carlos Rodrigues, Alessandro de Melo Varani, Vitor Fernandes Oliveira de Miranda, Lívia Perles, Karin Werther, and Rosangela Zacarias Machado
- Subjects
Caimans ,Hepatozoon caimani ,morphology ,morphometry ,molecular characterisation ,Brazil ,Animal culture ,SF1-1100 - Abstract
Abstract Hepatozoon species are the most common intracellular hemoparasite found in reptiles. Hepatozoon caimani, whose vectors are Culex mosquitoes, has been detected in a high prevalence among caimans in Brazil by blood smears examinations. The present work aimed to detect and characterize the Hepatozoon spp. found in 33 caimans (24 free-ranging and 9 captive; 28 males and 5 females) (Caiman crocodilus yacare) sampled at Poconé, North Pantanal, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, using blood smears examinations and molecular techniques. Hepatozoon spp.-gametocytes were found in 70.8% (17/24) and 88.8% (8/9) of blood smears from free-ranging and captive caimans, respectively. Hepatozoon spp. 18S rRNA DNA was found in 79.2% (19/24) and 88.8% (8/9) of free-ranging and captive caimans, respectively. Comparative analysis of parasitized and non-parasitized erythrocytes showed that all analyzed features were significantly different (P
- Published
- 2017
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