Folia Parasitologica 59[4] 241-248 (2012) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2012.033

Molecular survey and microscopic examination of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) in lacertid lizards from the western Mediterranean

João P.M.C. Maia1,2, Ana Perera1, D. James Harris1
1 CIBIO-UP, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
2 Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre FC4, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal

The genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) is composed of intracellular haemogregarine parasites that are widely distributed among all tetrapod groups. The present study combines microscopic and molecular data on haemogregarine parasites from lizards in the western Mediterranean. We screened tissue samples and examined blood smears for the presence of species of Hepatozoon from four lizards, namely Algyroides marchi Valverde, endemic to Southeast Spain, Podarcis bocagei Seoane from Spain and Portugal, P. hispanica Steindachner from Spain, and P. lilfordi Günther from Cabrera, Balearic Islands (Spain). Our results show that prevalence and intensity of Hepatozoon parasites vary between and within lizard species from different regions. Algyroides marchi and P. bocagei from Spain had the lowest values, whereas P. hispanica had the highest. Phylogeny based on 18S rRNA gene sequences indicates that most of the new Hepatozoon sequences are part of a clade exclusive from North African and Iberian lizards, except for a single P. bocagei isolate that is found related to another clade including isolates from other reptile host species and rodents. Interestingly, isolates from Algyroides form a distinct monophyletic subgroup, which could be a signal of strict host-specificity within this host genus.

Keywords: Apicomplexa, haemogregarine, 18S rRNA, phylogeny, tissue, blood smears

Received: June 7, 2012; Accepted: October 4, 2012; Published: December 1, 2012  Show citation

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Maia, J.P.M.C., Perera, A., & James Harris, D. (2012). Molecular survey and microscopic examination of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) in lacertid lizards from the western Mediterranean. Folia Parasitologica, 59(4), 241-248. doi: 10.14411/fp.2012.033
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