Trichobilharzia in the New World: Argentinian species offer a first glimpse of species diversity across hosts and the American continents.

BRANT S. V.; EBBS E; LOKER E. S.; VIOZZI G.; FLORES V.

Omaha Nebraska

Congreso; 90th Annual Meeting, American Society of Parasitologists.; 2015

American Society of Parsitology

TRICHOBILHARZIA IN THE NEW WORLD: ARGENTINIAN SPECIES OFFER A FIRST GLIMPSEOF SPECIES DIVERSITY ACROSS HOSTS AND THE AMERICAN CONTINENTSS. Brant, E. Ebbs and E.S. Loker, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Center for Evolutionary and TheoreticalImmunology, Department of Biology, University of New MexicoG. Viozzi, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Dpto ZoologíaV. Flores, University of Buenos Aires, Biological Sciences Department, ArgentinaThe genus Trichobilharzia, commonly responsible for cercarial dermatitis, is globally distributed. Butuntil recently, little was known about their species diversity in South America. This poses an interestingquestion, since some species of North American ducks are known to migrate to South America (and viceversa), and it is not known if South America duck species host distinct species of Trichobilharzia, or ifthey harbor the same species as found in North America, or both. Eleven species of indigenous SouthAmerican ducks from northern Argentina were examined for schistosomes over the last two years. Twolineages of Trichobilharzia were found, one from one species of diving ducks and the other from threespecies of dabbling ducks, both endemic to South America. The species from diving ducks is distinct fromdabbling ducks, but similar to the physid-transmitted North American species T. physellae, also fromdiving ducks. Similarly, the schistosome from South American dabbling ducks is distinct from, yet mostsimilar to, the physid-transmitted species T. querquedulae from North American dabblers. This patternreinforces the finding that at least within Clade Q of Trichobilharzia, one species group appears to preferdiving ducks (Netta, Aythya, Bucephala) and another prefers dabbling ducks (Anas), a trend also seen in