Toxoplasma gondii infection in Amami spiny rat on Amami-Oshima Island, Japan

摘要

The Amami spiny rat ( Tokudaia osimensis ) is an endangered rodent species that is endemic to the forests of Amami-Oshima Island, Kagoshima, Japan. In July 2018, a deceased adult male Amami spiny rat was found on the Yuwandake Mountain Trail on the south-central coast of Amami-Oshima Island. Histopathological observations revealed protozoan infections in the liver, lungs, and heart. Nested or semi-nested PCRs targeting the B1 , SAG3 , GRA6 , and ROP18 genes successfully detected the genomic DNA of Toxoplasma gondii in the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimen. Sequence analyses of the SAG3 , GRA6 , and ROP18 genes suggested that the strain detected in the study specimen was related to the type II strain of T. gondii . This is the first confirmed case of T. gondii infection in an Amami spiny rat.