Prevalence and diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites across islands of Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.

ABSTRACT: The taxonomically diverse and relatively understudied avifauna of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) island archipelagos provide a unique ecological framework for studying haemosporidian parasite differentiation and geographic structure. We implemented molecular and phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial DNA sequences to assess the host distribution of 3 genera of vector-transmitted avian blood parasites (Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus) across a range of islands off the southeastern tip of PNG. We identified 40 new lineages of haemosporidians, including five lineages belonging to Leucocytozoon, a genus not previously described in this region. Leucocytozoon infections were only observed on the larger, human-inhabited islands. Lineages belonging to Haemoproteus were diverse and had

SUBMITTER: Amaya-Mejia W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9098550 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature