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What Babesia microti Is Now.

ABSTRACT: Parasites from diverse hosts morphologically identified as Babesia microti have previously been shown to belong to a paraphyletic species complex. With a growing number of reports of B. microti-like parasites from across the world, this paper seeks to report on the current knowledge of the diversity of this species complex. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences obtained from GenBank shows that the diversity of the B. microti species complex has markedly increased and now encompasses at least five distinct clades. This cryptic diversity calls into question much of our current knowledge of the life cycle of these parasites, as many biological studies were conducted before DNA sequencing technology was available. In many cases, it is uncertain which B. microti-like parasite was studied because parasites from different clades may occur sympatrically and even share the same host. Progress can only be made if future studies are conducted with careful attention to parasite identification and PCR primer specificity.

SUBMITTER: Goethert HK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8467215 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe Babesia microti-like parasite is an emerging tick-borne piroplasm that has been detected in a range of hosts worldwide. Babesia vulpes, which is found in dogs and foxes, has been reclassified from B. microti-like parasites. The relationships among these B. microti-like parasites and B. vulpes with respect to host range and geographical origin have not been elucidated.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 27 raccoon dogs in South Korea and used to screen for B. microti-like parasites based on a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia. For comparative purposes, in addition to 18S rRNA sequences from nine raccoon dogs, we also analyzed 18S rRNA sequences from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts in different geographical regions worldwide obtained from the GenBank database, giving 123 sequences in total. The genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among these sequences were examined based on analyses using DnaSP, MEGA, Arlequine, and BEAST software.ResultsBabesia microti-like parasites were identified in nine raccoon dogs and found to be related to B. vulpes obtained from Spanish dogs. Among the 123 sequences from 14 countries and various hosts, we identified 43 haplotypes with high genetic variance. Based on the genetic variance and phylogenetic analyses, we established that the B. microti-like parasites isolated in different geographical regions and from hosts belonging to five orders showed higher among-population variation than within-population variation. Babesia vulpes parasites infecting carnivore hosts, including raccoon dogs, foxes, skunks and dogs, appear to be genetically distinct from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts belonging to the other orders.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated the genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among 18S rRNA sequences obtained from blood samples collected from various hosts and different geographical regions. Babesia vulpes was identified from raccoon dogs in South Korea. In addition, higher genetic variations were observed among populations of different hosts and geographical origins and, in particular, low connectivity was observed among host populations in the order Carnivora and those in other orders. These results suggest the B. vulpes, a piroplasmid species pathogenic in domestic dogs and wild canines, is genetically and evolutionarily different from B. microti-like parasites.

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What Babesia microti Is Now.

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