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. 2022 Feb 16:17:225-229.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2022.02.007. eCollection 2022 Apr.

First detection and molecular identification of Babesia gibsoni and Hepatozoon canis in an Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) from Thailand

Benjaporn Bhusri  1 , Paisin Lekcharoen  2 , Tanasak Changbunjong  1   3
Affiliations

First detection and molecular identification of Babesia gibsoni and Hepatozoon canis in an Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) from Thailand

Benjaporn Bhusri et al. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. .

Abstract

Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. are apicomplexan parasites that infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals. The life cycle of these parasites requires a tick vector as a definitive host and various vertebrates as reservoir hosts. The objective of this study was to detect and characterize Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. in an Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) from a natural habitat in northeastern Thailand. Heart and spleen samples of an adult male wild dog were screened for Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the partial fragment of 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequence. Both Babesia sp. and Hepatozoon sp. were detected in the spleen of the wild dog. Nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that the detected parasites were Babesia gibsoni and Hepatozoon canis. This is the first report of B. gibsoni and H. canis in the Asiatic wild dog from Thailand using PCR. Our results indicate that wild dogs can serve as a potential reservoir of the protozoan parasites and that they may play an important role in the transmission of these parasites to other wild or domestic canids.

Keywords: Asiatic wild dog; Babesia; Dhole; Hepatozoon; Ribosomal RNA; Tick.

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Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree of the Babesia partial 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) gene sequence. Babesia gibsoni (MK144331) was amplified from an Asiatic wild dog in Thailand and analyzed for comparison with other Babesia spp. from the GenBank database. The numbers on branches indicate percent bootstrap support based on 1000 bootstrap replications and only bootstrap values ≥ 50% are shown.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree of the Hepatozoon partial 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) gene sequence. Hepatozoon canis (MK144332) was amplified from an Asiatic wild dog in Thailand and analyzed for comparison with other Hepatozoon spp. from the GenBank database. The numbers on branches indicate percent bootstrap support based on 1000 bootstrap replications and only bootstrap values ≥ 50% are shown.
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