A novel lineage of Chilomastix mesnili in wild Moroccan Barbary macaques ( Macaca sylvanus )
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: ABSTRACT Chilomastix spp. are flagellated protists found in the intestines of a broad range of hosts. They are generally non-pathogenic and have been little studied, especially using molecular techniques, and significant taxonomic uncertainty regarding the host specificity of lineages remains. As part of a study of intestinal microbial communities of wild Barbary macaques ( Macaca sylvanus ) from Morocco, we mined 50 faecal metagenomic sequence libraries and found 11 rRNA sequences matching Chilomastix . Compared to published 18S rRNA sequences, the Barbary macaque Chilomastix sequences formed a well-supported clade distinct from human-derived C. mesnili ST1 from Indonesia. The macaque Chilomastix sequences cluster with a single pig-derived isolate and two sequences from Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ). This indicates that M. sylvanus harbours a lineage of Chilomastix distinct from the common human strain of C. mesnili and geographically widespread. We were also able to reconstruct the complete rDNA operon from this lineage.
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7224080406