title: Piroplasms in brown hyaenas (Parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Namibia and South Africa are closely related to Babesia lengau.
abstract: The objective of our study was identification and molecular characterization of piroplasms and rickettsias occurring in brown (Parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) from various localities in Namibia and South Africa. Whole blood (n = 59) and skin (n = 3) specimens from brown (n = 15) and spotted hyaenas (n = 47) were screened for the presence of Babesia, Theileria, Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species using the reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization technique. PCR products of 52/62 (83.9%) of the specimens hybridized only with the Theileria/Babesia genus-specific probes and not with any of the species-specific probes, suggesting the presence of a novel species or variant of a species. No Ehrlichia and/or Anaplasma species DNA could be detected. A parasite 18S ribosomal RNA gene of brown (n = 3) and spotted hyaena (n = 6) specimens was subsequently amplified and cloned, and the recombinants were sequenced. Homologous sequence searches of databases indicated that the obtained sequences were most closely related to Babesia lengau, originally described from cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Observed sequence similarities were subsequently confirmed by phylogenetic analyses which showed that the obtained hyaena sequences formed a monophyletic group with B. lengau, B abesia conradae and sequences previously isolated from humans and wildlife in the western USA. Within the B. lengau clade, the obtained sequences and the published B. lengau sequences were grouped into six distinct groups, of which groups I to V represented novel B. lengau genotypes and/or gene variants. We suggest that these genotypes cannot be classified as new Babesia species, but rather as variants of B. lengau. This is the first report of occurrence of piroplasms in brown hyaenas.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
authors.forename: Richard E J
authors.initials: REJ
authors.lastname: Burroughs
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa. banie.penzhorn@up.ac.za.|Research Associate, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Boom Street, Pretoria, South Africa. banie.penzhorn@up.ac.za.
authors.forename: Barend L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Penzhorn
authors.affiliation: Brown Hyena Research Project, P.O. Box 739, Lüderitz, Namibia.|Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wiesel
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.|Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vorster
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marinda C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Oosthuizen
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D001403:Babesia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005838:Genotype; D045968:Hyaenidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D009276:Namibia; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013019:South Africa; D016794:Theileria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
keywords: Babesia lengau; Crocuta; Hyaena; Namibia; Parahyaena; South Africa