FAUNA DE HELMINTOS DEL PINGÜINO DE MAGALLANES (SPHENISCUS MAGELLANICUS FOSTER, 1781) DE LA ILHA COMPRIDA, COSTA SUR, ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO, BRASIL

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar los helmintos parásitos de Spheniscus magellanicus Foster, 1781 de la municipalidad de Ilha Comprida, a lo largo de la costa sur de Sao Paulo, Brasil. Un total de 28 individuos fueron analizados, dando como resultado la identificación de tres especies de helmintos: Contracaecum pelagicum Johnston & Mawson, 1942, Cardiocephaloides physalis Sudarikov, 1959 y Tetrabothrium lutzi Parona, 1901. Contracaecum pelagicum y C. physalis se caracterizan como especies core, mientras que T. lutzi se considera una especie satélite. Todos los individuos examinados estaban infectados con al menos una especie, con una prevalencia del 100%. Los especímenes hospedadores fueron todos juveniles y el patrón de la infección puede estar asociado con la alimentación durante la migración a la costa brasileña.

Molecular Characterization of New Haplotype of Genus Sarcocystis in Seabirds from Magdalena Island, Southern Chile

Evidence of sarcocystid infection was investigated in samples of 16 penguins (Spheniscus. magellanicus), four Dominican gulls (Larus dominicanus) and two Chilean skuas (Stercorarius chilensis) found in Madalenas Islands, Chile, in 2017. Samples of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and brain from all birds were screened by a pan-sarcocystid nested-PCR targeting a short fragment of the gene encoding the small ribosomal unit (nPCR-18Sa). The only two positive samples by nPCR-18Sa, both from skuas, were tested by a nested-PCR directed to the internal transcribed spacer 1 (nPCR-ITS1), also a pan-sarcocystidae nested-PCR, and to a nested-PCR directed to the B1 gene (nPCR-B1), for the exclusive detection of Toxoplasma gondii. The two nPCR-18Sa-positive samples were nPCR-ITS1-positive and nPCR-B1-negative. The nPCR-ITS1 nucleotide sequences from the two skuas, which were identical to each other, were revealed closely related to homologous sequences of Sarcocystis halieti, species found in seabirds of northern hemisphere. Larger fragments of genes encoding 18S and partial sequences of genes coding for cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 were also analyzed, corroborating ITS1 data. The haplotypes found in the skuas are unprecedent and closely related to species that use birds as the definitive host. Further studies need to be carried out to detect, identify and isolate this parasite to understand the epidemiology of the infection and its impact on the health of marine fauna.