Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands
Babesia spp. are tick-borne parasites, and 16 avian-infecting species have been described to date, including one species (Babesia peircei) that infects penguins. Considering the results of a recent study reporting Babesia sp. in penguins on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, we re-examined th...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:11bf9cc1bd754a6da86aae6f0f699d39 2023-05-15T13:50:14+02:00 Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels Francisco C. Ferreira Junior Daniela de Angeli Dutra Sabrina Epiphanio Érika M. Braga Pierre A. Pistorius José Luiz Catão-Dias 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/article/11bf9cc1bd754a6da86aae6f0f699d39 EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 1751-8369 doi:10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/article/11bf9cc1bd754a6da86aae6f0f699d39 Polar Research, Vol 37, Iss 1 (2018) Antarctica blood seabird Spheniscidae tick-borne pathogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 2022-12-31T05:52:59Z Babesia spp. are tick-borne parasites, and 16 avian-infecting species have been described to date, including one species (Babesia peircei) that infects penguins. Considering the results of a recent study reporting Babesia sp. in penguins on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, we re-examined the samples obtained in a previous investigation on the occurrence of blood parasites in adult Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) on King George and Elephant islands, South Shetland Islands. Notwithstanding a comprehensive re-examination of the blood smears, Babesia sp. was not detected. When we employed two nested PCR tests targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia, a considerable proportion of the samples produced positive results; however, gene sequencing revealed these were due to cross-amplification of non-target organisms. We therefore did not detect Babesia sp. infection in penguins on King George and Elephant islands. Additional studies will be valuable to clarify the distribution and epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic seabirds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus Deception Island Polar Research Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua South Shetland Islands Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Deception Island ENVELOPE(-60.633,-60.633,-62.950,-62.950) South Shetland Islands Polar Research 37 1 1500267 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctica blood seabird Spheniscidae tick-borne pathogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
Antarctica blood seabird Spheniscidae tick-borne pathogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels Francisco C. Ferreira Junior Daniela de Angeli Dutra Sabrina Epiphanio Érika M. Braga Pierre A. Pistorius José Luiz Catão-Dias Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
topic_facet |
Antarctica blood seabird Spheniscidae tick-borne pathogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Babesia spp. are tick-borne parasites, and 16 avian-infecting species have been described to date, including one species (Babesia peircei) that infects penguins. Considering the results of a recent study reporting Babesia sp. in penguins on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, we re-examined the samples obtained in a previous investigation on the occurrence of blood parasites in adult Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) on King George and Elephant islands, South Shetland Islands. Notwithstanding a comprehensive re-examination of the blood smears, Babesia sp. was not detected. When we employed two nested PCR tests targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia, a considerable proportion of the samples produced positive results; however, gene sequencing revealed these were due to cross-amplification of non-target organisms. We therefore did not detect Babesia sp. infection in penguins on King George and Elephant islands. Additional studies will be valuable to clarify the distribution and epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic seabirds. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels Francisco C. Ferreira Junior Daniela de Angeli Dutra Sabrina Epiphanio Érika M. Braga Pierre A. Pistorius José Luiz Catão-Dias |
author_facet |
Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels Francisco C. Ferreira Junior Daniela de Angeli Dutra Sabrina Epiphanio Érika M. Braga Pierre A. Pistorius José Luiz Catão-Dias |
author_sort |
Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels |
title |
Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
title_short |
Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
title_full |
Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
title_fullStr |
Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigation of Babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the South Shetland Islands |
title_sort |
investigation of babesia sp. in pygoscelid penguins at the south shetland islands |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/article/11bf9cc1bd754a6da86aae6f0f699d39 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.633,-60.633,-62.950,-62.950) |
geographic |
Antarctic Deception Island South Shetland Islands |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Deception Island South Shetland Islands |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus Deception Island Polar Research Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua South Shetland Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus Deception Island Polar Research Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua South Shetland Islands |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 37, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 1751-8369 doi:10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 https://doaj.org/article/11bf9cc1bd754a6da86aae6f0f699d39 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1500267 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
37 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1500267 |
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1766253277657169920 |