Contribution to the knowledge of Neotrichodectes (Nasuicola) pallidus (Piaget, 1880) (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae)

Lívia Perles; Ricardo Bassini-Silva; Fernando Castro Jacinavicius; Wanessa Teixeira Gomes Barreto; Gabriel Carvalho de Macedo; Filipe Santos Martins; Heitor Miraglia Herrera; Rosangela Zacarias Machado; Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti; Marcos Rogério André

doi:10.1016/j.vprsr.2023.100877

Contribution to the knowledge of Neotrichodectes (Nasuicola) pallidus (Piaget, 1880) (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae)

Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2023 Jun:41:100877. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2023.100877. Epub 2023 Apr 20.

Affiliations

¹ Vector-Borne Bioagents Laboratory (VBBL), Department of Pathology, Reproduction and One Health, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil.
² Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-000, SP, Brazil.
³ Post Graduation Program of Ecology and Conservation, Mato Grosso do Sul Federal University, Campo Grande 13471-410, MS, Brazil.
⁴ Laboratory of Parasitic Biology, Environmental Sciences and Farming Sustainability, Dom Bosco Catholic University, Campo Grande 13471-410, MS, Brazil.
⁵ Vector-Borne Bioagents Laboratory (VBBL), Department of Pathology, Reproduction and One Health, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: mr.andre@unesp.br.

PMID: 37208084
DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2023.100877

Abstract

The species in the genus Neotrichodectes (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) infest carnivores. Neotrichodectes (Nasuicola) pallidus (Piaget, 1880), which has been primarily found parasitizing Procyonidae mammals, has been recorded in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua) in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Pernambuco. We report a new record of N. pallidus in coatis in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, central-western Brazil, using morphological (Light and Scanning Electronic Microscopy) and molecular approaches (PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis). Coatis were sampled in two peri-urban areas of Campo Grande city, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, between March 2018 and March 2019, as well as in November 2021. Lice were collected and examined under light and Scanning Electron Microscopy. DNA was also extracted from nymphs and adults and submitted to PCR assays based on the 18S rRNA and cox-1 genes for molecular characterization. One hundred and one coatis were sampled from 2018 to 2019 and 20 coatis in 2021 [when the intensity of infestation (II) was not accessed]. Twenty-six coatis (26/101-25.7%) were infested with at least one louse, with a total of 59 lice collected in 2018-2019. The II ranged from one to seven lice (mean 2.2 ± SD 1.7). The louse species was confirmed based on the following morphological characteristics: female gonapophyses rounded with the setae along anterior region but not in the medial margin; the male genitalia with a parameral arch not extending beyond the endometrial plate. The same ornamentation was observed on the abdomen of the females, males, and nymphs. The nymphs and the eggs were described in detail for the first time. The obtained 18S rRNA and cox1 sequences from N. pallidus clustered in a clade with other sequences of Ischnocera species. In the present study, a new record of the louse N. pallidus in central-western Brazil was provided, along with new insights into the morphological features of this species, with the first morphology contribution of nymphal and eggs stages.

Keywords: 18S rRNA; Cox-1; Louse; Nasua nasua; Phylogeny; SEM.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anoplura*
Female
Ischnocera*
Male
Mammals
Phylogeny
Procyonidae*
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / genetics

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 18S