AI Article Synopsis
- Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite responsible for Chagas disease, has been found in the saliva of various Neotropical bats, although how it spreads remains largely unknown.
- Analysis of genetic data indicates that the bat-related T. cruzi forms its own distinct group, suggesting they may have their own unique transmission pathways separate from other environments.
- This research opens up new possibilities for studying how T. cruzi in bat saliva could potentially lead to new ways humans might contract Chagas disease, warranting further investigation.
Article Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is widely reported in bats, yet transmission routes remain unclear. We present evidence from metagenomic sequence data that T. cruzi occurs in the saliva of diverse Neotropical bats. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the bat-associated T. cruzi sequences described here formed part of a bat-specific clade, suggesting an independent transmission cycle. Our results highlight the value in repurposing metagenomic data generated for viral discovery to reveal insights into the biology of other parasites. Evaluating whether the presence of T. cruzi in the saliva of two hematophagous bat species represents an ecological route for zoonotic transmission of Chagas disease is an interesting avenue for future research.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8569697 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zph.12808 | DOI Listing |
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