Molecular prevalence, genetic characterization and patterns of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic small mammals from Cotonou, Benin

• Published in: Parasite
• Main Authors: Etougbétché, Jonas, R., Hamidović, Azra, Dossou, Henri-Joël, Coan-Grosso, Maeva, Roques, Roxane, Plault, Nicolas, Houéménou, Gualbert, Badou, Sylvestre, Missihoun, Antoine, A., Abdou Karim, Issaka, Youssao, Galal, Lokman, Diagne, Christophe, Dardé, Marie-Laure, Dobigny, Gauthier, Mercier, Aurélien
• Other Authors: Ecole Polytechnique d'Abomey Calavi (EPAC), Université d’Abomey-Calavi = University of Abomey Calavi (UAC), Institut d'Epidémiologie Neurologique et de Neurologie Tropicale, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Centre National de Référence (CNR) Toxoplasmose/Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center (BRC) (CNR Toxoplasmose-Toxoplasma BRC), CHU Limoges, Unité Peste - Plague Unit Antananarivo, Madagascar, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP)-Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), This work was supported by funds from the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR project IntroTox 17-CE35-0004 given to A. Mercier), the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France, and recurrent funding (given to G. Dobigny) from the French Institute of Research for Sustainable Development (IRD)., ANR-17-CE35-0004,IntroTox,PHENOMÈNES D'INTROGRESSIONS DANS L'ÉTUDE DE LA DIVERSITÉ GÉNÉTIQUE DU TOXOPLASME ENTRE LA FRANCE ET L'AFRIQUE DE L'OUEST ET CENTRALE : DES INFLUENCES HUMAINES ET ENVIRONEMENTALES(2017)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: Toxoplasma gondii; Small mammals; Parasite ecology; Infectious disease; Molecular epidemiology; Urban eco-epidemiology; Benin; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03957367; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03957367/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03957367/file/parasite220072.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2022058

This study is part of a long-term partnership between Cotonou Autonomous Seaport, the Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, the French Institute of Research for Sustainable Development, and the Tropical Neurology Institute (Inserm U1094, IRD U270 EpiMaCT, University of Limoges). We are grateful to Ladji, Agla and Saint-Jean authorities as well as inhabitants who kindly authorized us to access their households for trapping and interview purposes. We thank the Autonomous Port of Cotonou authorities and staff who facilitated our access to their infrastructures. We also thank the CBGP Small Mammal Collection (Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations, 2018, “CBGP – Small mammal Collection”, https://doi.org/10.15454/WWNUPO) for the conservation of samples from Benin. International audience Toxoplasmosis, one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in humans and animals, is caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Small mammals play a key role as intermediate reservoir hosts in the maintenance of the T. gondii life cycle. In this study, we estimated the molecular prevalence and provide genetic diversity data for T. gondii in 632 small mammals sampled in four areas of Cotonou city, Benin. Both the brain and heart of each individual were screened through T. gondii-targeting qPCR, and positive samples were then genotyped using a set of 15 T. gondii-specific microsatellites. Prevalence data were statistically analyzed in order to assess the relative impact of individual host characteristics, spatial distribution, composition of small mammal community, and urban landscape features. An overall T. gondii molecular prevalence of 15.2% was found and seven genotypes, all belonging to the Africa 1 lineage, could be retrieved from the invasive black rat Rattus rattus and the native African giant shrew Crocidura olivieri. Statistical analyses did not suggest any significant influence of the environmental parameters used in this study. Rather, depending on the local context, T. gondii ...