title: A tsetse and tabanid fly survey of African great apes habitats reveals the presence of a novel trypanosome lineage but the absence of Trypanosoma brucei.
abstract: Tsetse and tabanid flies transmit several Trypanosoma species, some of which are human and livestock pathogens of major medical and socioeconomic impact in Africa. Recent advances in molecular techniques and phylogenetic analyses have revealed a growing diversity of previously unidentified tsetse-transmitted trypanosomes potentially pathogenic to livestock and/or other domestic animals as well as wildlife, including African great apes. To map the distribution, prevalence and co-occurrence of known and novel trypanosome species, we analyzed tsetse and tabanid flies collected in the primary forested part of the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic, which hosts a broad spectrum of wildlife including primates and is virtually devoid of domestic animals. Altogether, 564 tsetse flies and 81 tabanid flies were individually screened for the presence of trypanosomes using 18S rRNA-specific nested PCR. Herein, we demonstrate that wildlife animals are parasitized by a surprisingly wide range of trypanosome species that in some cases may circulate via these insect vectors. While one-third of the examined tsetse flies harbored trypanosomes either from the Trypanosoma theileri, Trypanosoma congolense or Trypanosoma simiae complex, or one of the three new members of the genus Trypanosoma (strains 'Bai', 'Ngbanda' and 'Didon'), more than half of the tabanid flies exclusively carried T. theileri. To establish the putative vertebrate hosts of the novel trypanosome species, we further analyzed the provenance of blood meals of tsetse flies. DNA individually isolated from 1033 specimens of Glossina spp. and subjected to high-throughput library-based screening proved that most of the examined tsetse flies engorged on wild ruminants (buffalo, sitatunga, bongo), humans and suids. Moreover, they also fed (albeit more rarely) on other vertebrates, thus providing indirect but convincing evidence that trypanosomes can be transmitted via these vectors among a wide range of warm- and cold-blooded hosts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic. Electronic address: vapid@natur.cuni.cz.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Votýpka
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rádrová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skalický
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jirků
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jirsová
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Andrei D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Mihalca
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Petrželková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Modrý
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: jula@paru.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukeš
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002488:Central African Republic; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004175:Diptera / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D015186:Hominidae / Q000254:growth & development; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
keywords: African great apes; Bloodmeal; Feeding preference; Gorillas; Tabanids; Transmission; Trypanosoma; Tsetse