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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1466409
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding Pathogen Spread in Invasive Vertebrate Species View all articles

Genetic and biological insights into Hydatigera taeniaeformis in invasive black rats from southern Chile

Provisionally accepted
Cristian A. Alvarez Rojas Cristian A. Alvarez Rojas 1Cristián Bonacic Cristián Bonacic 1Rodrigo Salgado Rodrigo Salgado 1Lucia Peters Lucia Peters 1Diego Fredes Diego Fredes 1André V. Rubio André V. Rubio 2Sebastian Muñoz-Leal Sebastian Muñoz-Leal 3Pablo Oyarzún-Ruiz Pablo Oyarzún-Ruiz 3Alonso Aguirre Alonso Aguirre 4*
  • 1 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 2 Universidad de chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 3 University of Concepcion, Concepción, VIII Biobío Region, Chile
  • 4 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study investigates the genetic variability of Hydatigera taeniaeformis in black rats (Rattus rattus), a common tapeworm that infects cats and rodents worldwide. Despite its widespread presence and zoonotic potential, little is known about the genetic diversity of this parasite in the Americas. We conducted DNA barcoding analysis using mitochondrial cox1 gene sequences using samples collected from 171 invasive wild black rats, captured in the temperate rainforest of Southern Chile. We also included two adult parasites isolated from road killed Kodkods (Leopardus guigna), a small felid species native to the Americas. Our findings revealed only two haplotypes, suggesting low genetic variability in a parasite that arrived in the Americas with the Spanish colonization. These haplotypes are more closely related to parasite populations from Peru, Africa, Australia, and Europe, suggesting an origin linked to the Spanish colonization, possibly from North Africa via the Canary Islands. The study also analyzed infection rates, parasite size, and their correlation with host body size, age, and weight, revealing significant patterns. These results provide new insights into the biogeography and genetic diversity of H. taeniaeformis in a new geographical area, enhancing our understanding of its evolutionary history.

    Keywords: Chile, cox1 gene, genetic variability, Hydatigera taeniaeformis, Rattus rattus

    Received: 17 Jul 2024; Accepted: 28 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alvarez Rojas, Bonacic, Salgado, Peters, Fredes, Rubio, Muñoz-Leal, Oyarzún-Ruiz and Aguirre. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alonso Aguirre, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523, Colorado, United States

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