ISOLATION AND DETECTION OF Brucella melitensis. (PROTEOBACTERIA) IN THE WHITE BELLIED CURSORIAL SPINY LIZARD (Sceloporus megalepidurus) FROM THE EASTERN BASIN, PUEBLA, MEXICO.

Abstract

Abstract— Brucellosis is a zoonosis that can affect humans, livestock, and wildlife, which has been expanding into new reservoirs, 14 species are currently recognized, some of which have been reported for marine mammals, fish and amphibians. However; its role in wild fauna is currently unknown. In recent years, in the Eastern Basin, Brucella melitensis was detected in agricultural soil and in the water of the Crater Lakes, so it was speculated whether B. melitensis had the ability to infect lacertilian Scelopurus megalepidurus. Between February 2014 and April 2015, 75 specimens of Sceloporus megalepidurus were collected in the crater lake region of Central Mexico. An experiment was designed, in triplicate; by performing the soft tissue-derived agar-plate isolation, identification was made using standard microbiological tests. It was compared by PCR, with the reference vaccine strains (BM16 and BS19). B. melitensis was isolated in (33%) of the samples studied, the microbiological profiles were comparatively identical with the reference strains, the specific gene for the Brucella genus, bp26 was amplified with 1029 bp. This is the first report of isolation and identification for B. melitensis in a native lizard. These data may be a useful tool to improve understanding of the pathogenesis and virulence of the genus Brucella in the wild and its potential effect on wildlife, as new reservoirs of the disease.