Lotmaria passim (Kinetoplastea: Trypanosomatidae) in honey bees from Argentina

QUINTANA, SILVINA; PLISCHUK, SANTIAGO; REVAINERA, PABLO DAMIAN; BRASESCO, CONSTANZA; GENCHI GARCÍA, MARÍA L.; BRAVI, MARÍA E.; REYNALDI, FRANCISCO J.; EGUARAS, MARTIN; MAGGI, MATIAS DANIEL

PARASITOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021 vol. 81 p. 1 - 5

1383-5769

Lotmaria passim (Kinetoplastea) is considered the most prevalent trypanosomatid associated tothe European honey bee Apis mellifera. By PCR we screened for the presence of this parasite in57 samples from ten Argentinian provinces, and we were able to detect its presence throughoutmost of the country where 41% of the samples were positive. In a retrospective analysis, wedetected it in 73% of honey bee samples from 2006 showing that this flagellate is widely presentin our country at least since that year. Besides, three primers set for L. passim detection werecompared, finding that the pair that generated the smallest PCR product had the best detectioncapability. Finally, we also found L. passim DNA in samples of the mite Varroa destructor, butthe role of this ectoparasite in the lifecycle of Lotmaria, if exists, remains unrevealed.