title: Morphological and molecular data on the dermal microfilariae of a species of Cercopithifilaria from a dog in Sicily.
abstract: Dermal microfilariae found in a dog from Sicily, Italy, were characterized morphologically and genetically and differentiated from those of all the other blood microfilariae commonly found in dogs. In particular, the microfilariae were short (mean length of 186.7 μm), presented a body flattened dorso-ventrally and a rounded head, bearing a tiny cephalic hook. The genetic identity of microfilariae herein studied was also assessed by molecular amplification, sequencing and analyzing of multiple ribosomal ITS-2 and mitochondrial (cox1 and 12S) target genes. Both morphologic and genetic characterization as well as the molecular phylogenetic history inferred using sequences of a barcoding dataset were concordant in supporting the identification of Cercopithifilaria at the genus level. Surprisingly, microfilariae here examined were well distinct from Cercopithifilaria grassii (Noè, 1907), from northern Italy, and resembled those of a species described in Brazil, Cercopithifilaria bainae Almeida & Vicente, 1984. This paper provides evidence for the existence of a Cercopithifilaria species infesting a dog from Sicily and also presents a PCR protocol on skin samples as a tool for further epidemiological studies, which could provide evidence on the aetiology and the natural history of this filarial species.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Zootecnia, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy. d.otranto@veterinaria.uniba.it
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otranto
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brianti
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dantas-Torres
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weigl
authors.forename: Maria Stefania
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Latrofa
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gaglio
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cauquil
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giannetto
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bain
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005368:Filariasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005370:Filarioidea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012802:Sicily / Q000453:epidemiology