Abstract
Invasive rodent species are known hosts for a diverse range of infectious microorganisms and have long been associated with the spread of disease globally. The present study describes molecular evidence for the presence of a Trypanosoma sp. from black rats (Rattus rattus) in northern Sydney, Australia. Sequences of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) locus were obtained in two out of eleven (18%) blood samples with subsequent phylogenetic analysis confirming the identity within the Trypanosoma lewisi clade.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Jenna Bytheway, Dr. Henry Lydecker and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy ecologists Dr. Viyanna Leo and Mareshell Wauchope for their invaluable assistance in the field. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
Funding
This study was part-funded by the Australian Research Council (LP160100200), Bayer HealthCare (Germany) and Bayer Australia. S.L.E. is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship; C.L.T. is supported by a scholarship from the Northern Beaches Council. This project was also part supported by The Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and The Ecological Society of Australia (awarded to S.L.E.) and the Paddy Pallin Science Grant from The Royal Zoological Society (awarded to C.L.T.).
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The sampling was conducted under Murdoch University Animal Ethics Committee permit number R3026/18 and University of Sydney Animal Ethics Committee Permit number 2018/1429.
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Egan, S.L., Taylor, C.L., Austen, J.M. et al. Molecular identification of the Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) lewisi clade in black rats (Rattus rattus) from Australia. Parasitol Res 119, 1691–1696 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06653-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06653-z