Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of spp. detected from striped leaf-nosed bats () in Zambia.

Bat trypanosomes consist of more than 30 trypanosome species from over 70 species of bats. Recent studies suggest that bats play a role in disseminating trypanosomes from African continent to the terrestrial mammals both in the Afrotropic-Palearctic Ecozones and Nearctic Ecozone. However, the diversity, distribution, and evolution of bat trypanosomes are still unclear. To better understand their evolution, more genetic data of bat trypanosomes from a variety of locations are required. During a survey of spp. of bats inhabiting a cave in Zambia, we observed flagellate parasites from 5 of 43 hemocultures. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the glycosomal glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (; 572 bp) and the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (18S rRNA gene; 1,079-1,091 bp) revealed that all were belonged to the clade. Three and two of them exhibited the similarity with and , respectively. The present study provides the first genetic data on spp. of bats inhabiting Zambia.