Molecular Identification of Plasmodium falciparum from Captive Non-Human Primates in the Western Amazon Ecuador

Resumen

<b>Background:</b> Malaria is a disease caused by hemoparasites of the <i>Plasmodium</i> genus. Non-human primates (NHP) are hosts of <i>Plasmodium</i> sp. around the world. Several studies have demonstrated that <i>Plasmodium</i> sp. emerged from Africa. However, little information is currently available about <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> in the neotropical NHP and even less in Ecuador. Indeed, the objective of our study was to identify by molecular phylogenetic analyses the <i>Plasmodium</i> species associated with NHP from the Western Amazon region of Ecuador, and to design a molecular taxonomy protocol to use in the NHP disease ecology. <b>Methods:</b> We extracted DNA from faecal samples (n = 26) from nine species of captive (n = 19) and free-ranging (n = 7) NHP, collected from 2011 to 2019 in the Western Amazon region of Ecuador. <b>Results:</b> Using a pan-Plasmodium PCR, we obtained one positive sample from an adult female <i>Leontocebus lagonotus</i>. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis showed that this sequence unequivocally clustered with <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>. <b>Conclusions:</b> The identification of <i>Plasmodium</i> sp. in NHP of the Ecuadorian Amazon would be essential to identify their role as potential zoonotic reservoirs, and it is also important to identify their origin in wildlife and their transmission in captive NHP.