First morphological and molecular description of the ciliate protozoa Buxtonella sulcata (Ciliophora, Vestibuliferida) in cattle in Chile.

Buxtonella sulcata is an intestine ciliate protozoa whose presence in the cattle intestine has been associated with diarrhea episodes. Despite its cosmopolitan distribution, it has yet to be reported in previous studies on cattle in Chile. This study aimed to morphologically and molecularly identify cysts of Balantoides coli-like found in seven cattle samples admitted for parasitological analysis to the Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Disease, Faculty of Veterinary and Livestock Sciences, University of Chile, as the ciliate Buxtonella sulcata. Seven fecal samples from three individuals from the Chimbarongo district, O'Higgins region of Chile, and four individuals from the South Campus of the University of Chile, La Pintana district, Metropolitan Region of Chile, were analyzed by sedimentation technique. Then, DNA was extracted from the positive samples, and a PCR was performed, amplifying the ITS1-5.8S-rRNA-ITS2 region. The resulting sequences were aligned with reported sequence variants for this molecular marker and other sequences available in public databases to generate a phylogenetic tree. Our result showed structures compatible with cysts of ciliate organisms in all analyzed samples. The DNA of six out of seven samples was amplified and sequenced. The nucleotide sequences obtained from the isolates correspond to B. sulcata, confirming its presence in Chile. Polymorphisms associated with sequence variants A and B of the ITS1-5.8S-rRNA-ITS2 region were identified. The phylogenetic tree showed that all isolates in the present study were similar and clustered in the same clade. Thus, the present study represents the first molecular detection of the protozoan B. sulcata in cattle in Chile. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Camila Muñoz-Zanzi, Patricia Honores-Pérez, Catalina Godoy-Alfaro, Sofía Jara-Méndez, Valentina Rojas-Meza, Tury J Sepúlveda, Galia Ramírez-Toloza. First morphological and molecular description of the ciliate protozoa Buxtonella sulcata (Ciliophora, Vestibuliferida) in cattle in Chile. Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports. 2025 Jan;57:101183

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PMID: 39855869

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