CHARACTERIZATION OF TRYPANOSOMES FROM THE SUBGENUS SCHIZOTRYPANUM ISOLATED FROM BATS, EPTESICUS SP. (CHIROPTERA, VESPERTILIONIDAE), CAPTURED IN FLORIANOPOLIS, SANTA-CATARINA STATE, BRAZIL

Seven Trypanosoma spp. isolates obtained from bats (Eptesicus sp.) wer e characterized using experimental infection in mice, triatomines, and culicines; complement lysis; indirect fluorescence assays; as well as isoenzyme and random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles. The T rypanosoma sp. isolates were compared with Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanos oma rangeli, and 2 other bat trypanosomes species, Trypanosoma vespert ilionis and Trypanosoma hastatus. Trypanosoma sp. isolates were differ ent from the other species in all experiments, except in complement ly sis. Experimental infection of triatomines and culicines with Trypanos oma sp. proved to be transitory. These parasites were noninfective for both normal and immunosuppressed mice. Isoenzyme and RAPD profiles ob tained for Trypanosoma sp. were quite distinct from T. cruzi and T. ra ngeli and closely related to T. vespertilionis and T. hastatus. No cro ss-reaction was observed between sera from mice infected with Trypanos oma sp. and the other trypanosomatids and vice-versa. Trypanosoma sp. induced no protection against T. cruzi infection in mice. The very low , or nonsimilarity between Trypanosoma sp. isolates and the other spec ies used in this study suggests that they might be members of a distin ct bat trypanosome species. However, further studies should be done to prove their affinities with Trypanosoma curzi-marinkellei, another tr ypanosome species from bats.