GOALS AND CHALLENGES FROM THE SOUTH OF SOUTH AMERICA

BELTRAME M. ORNELA; AGUSTÍN, BELLUSCI; CAÑAL VICTORIA; RODRIGUEZ, VALERIA ALEJANDRA DE LOS MILAGROS; TIETZE, ELEONOR

Cochabamba

Congreso; IX PALEOPATHOLOGY ASSOCIATION MEETING IN SOUTH AMERICA; 2023

The “Paleoparasitología” research group (IIPROSAM-UNMdP, Argentina) is mainly focused on the study of parasitic remains recovered from wild and domestic mammal coprolites from the southern cone of South America. The group is working mainly on coprolites of camelids, goats, sheep, rodents and carnivores, dating from the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition to historical times. The magnitude of the results will be subject to advances in detection techniques of parasitic species as well as in the identification of hosts.Objectives: -Increase the paleoparasitological record and knowledge of the parasitic fauna of ancient populations, both animal and human, and identify the zoological origin of the samples. -Integrate microscopic and molecular techniques for the detection of parasitic species and the identification of hosts.Materials and methods: Coproparasitological techniques not yet applied to ancient samples were tested, mainly flotation techniques. Paleogenetic techniques were also used for the identification of Eimeria spp. (specific protist) and hosts.Results: The flotation techniques used allowed obtaining a greater number of positive samples. In the other hand, paleogenetic studies allowed the identification of the species of Eimeria and different hosts.Discussion: The complementary use of the techniques allowed a greater detection of parasitic species. In addition, paleogenetic studies allowed the identification of the zoological origin of the coprolites. In the future, it is expected to be able to design a specific protocol for each type of sample that maximizes the detection and identification of both parasitic species and hosts.