Ecological and molecular associations between Neotropical wild felids and Taenia (Cestoda: Taeniidae) in the Atlantic Forest: a new report for Taenia omissa

Abstract

Abstract Ecological associations between wild felids and parasites from the Taeniidae family are slightly related to predator-prey interactions, where felids act as definitive hosts and their prey, herbivores and/or omnivores, are intermediate hosts in the cycle. In the Atlantic Forest, six neotropical felid species coexist in sympatry, but the ecological parasite-host interactions remain poorly studied. Taenia omissa is a tapeworm associated with cougar (Puma concolor) as the only definitive host and its ungulate prey as intermediate host. The aim of this study was to perform an integrated analysis for the identification of tapeworms from road-killed fauna using both molecular and morphological characteristics. Tapeworms from a cougar, a jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) and two ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) and metacestodes from a red brocket deer (Mazama americana) and a wild guinea pig (Cavia aperea) were analyzed. Taenia omissa individuals were identified in the cougar and in the red brocket deer through morphological analysis of rostellar hooks and molecular analysis of the mitochondrial genetic marker COX1, demonstrating the presence of a complete host-parasite life cycle in the Atlantic Forest region. This new report expands the geographic distribution of T. omissa and shows the southernmost record. In addition, isolates of Taenia genus divergent from those described so far in molecular databases were reported and propose a wild cycle that involves the jaguarundi and agouti as definitive and intermediate hosts, respectively. These results show the complexity of the tapeworm population in the region and the need to study them with both morphological and molecular approaches.