Hepatozoon rufi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoidae) of Bobcats (Lynx rufus) from Mississippi

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2024 papers

Abstract

Hepatozoon sp. stages were detected in histological sections of the muscles of 11 of 25 bobcats (Lynx rufus). Parasites were detected from the myocardium of 11, tongues of 4, and limb muscles of 5 of these animals, which had been hunted in Mississippi in 2017. The intensity of infection was highest in the heart. Only asexual stages (meronts) were detected. Three types of meronts (types 1, 2, and 3) were detected, based on structure and mode of division. Additionally, individual zoites were found in leukocytes in the blood vessels of the myocardium, but the stage was not identified. Based on genomic DNA characterized from paraffin-embedded myocardium sections from 1 bobcat using 18S rRNA gene, the Hepatozoon species from the bobcat was related to but distinct from other Hepatozoon spp. of felids. This is the first description of the development of Hepatozoon in the muscles of bobcats. A new name, Hepatozoon rufi, is proposed for this parasite in bobcats.

Related Papers

• → Reporter gene expression in cell culture stages and oocysts of Eimeria nieschulzi (Coccidia, Apicomplexa)(2008)20 cited
• → The Role of Gamont Entry into Erythrocytes in the Specificity ofHepatozoonSpecies (Apicomplexa: Adeleida) for Their Frog Hosts(2013)6 cited
• → Haemogregarine Specificity in Two Communities of Florida Snakes, with Descriptions of Six New Species of Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoidae) and a Possible Species of Haemogregarina (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae)(2001)7 cited
• Prevalence of sarcocystis (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) in voles in Japan(1990)
• → Molecular detection of Hepatozoon species (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoidae) infecting snakes in the Northeastern region of Argentina(2024)