Molecular Survey and Genetic Diversity of Hemoplasmas in Rodents from Chile

oleh: Amir Salvador Alabí, Gustavo Monti, Carola Otth, Paulina Sepulveda-García, Melissa Sánchez-Hidalgo, Victória Valente Califre de Mello, Rosangela Zacarias Machado, Marcos Rogério André, Pedro Bittencourt, Ananda Müller

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-09-01

Deskripsi

Even though hemotrophic mycoplasma (hemoplasma) infections are well documented in a wide variety of hosts worldwide, there is a gap in the knowledge aobut hemoplasmas in rodents. This study aimed to molecularly survey and investigate the genetic diversity of hemoplasmas in rodents from Chile. Synanthropic and wild rodents (<i>n</i> = 74) were captured in the southern province of Valdivia (Corral, Valdivia, Riñihue, and Reumén localities). Spleen samples were submitted to a conventional PCR for hemotrophic <i>Mycoplasma</i> spp. targeting the 16S rRNA gene (800 bp), followed by sequencing, phylogenetic, and genetic diversity analyses. The overall occurrence of hemotrophic mycoplasmas in rodents from Valdivia was 24.5% (18/74) [95% CI (14.5; 34.1)]. Hemoplasmas were detected in <i>Mus musculus</i> (1/4), <i>Rattus norvegicus</i> (1/16), <i>Abrothrix longipilis</i> (7/13), <i>A. olivaceo</i> (6/8), and <i>Oligoryzomys longicaudatus</i> (3/10). The nucleotide polymorphism analysis of the targeted 16S rRNA region showed low diversity, with two genotypes and a high identity to the variants detected in wild rodents from Brazil. Hemoplasmas are described for the first time in rodents from Chile with a moderate occurrence and low 16S rDNA genetic diversity within the sampled rodent population. The detected hemoplasma genotypes were specific to rodents and were not shared with other mammals.