Endoparasites in a wild boar population (Sus scrofa) from Bahía Samborombón, Buenos Aires, Argentina

En Argentina se sabe poco sobre la parasitofauna en cerdos silvestres. Aquí, se describe por primera vez la comunidad parasitaria de una población silvestre de Sus scrofa en el área protegida Bahía Samborombón. Se tomaron muestras de materia fecal y se revisaron las vísceras de 30 individuos. La prevalencia (P) total fue de 90%, registrándose Eimeria sp. (P = 18.5%), Isospora sp. (P = 22%) (Coccidia), Iodamoeba sp. (P = 52%) (Amoebidae), Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (P = 33%) (Acanthocephala), Ascaris suum (P = 22%), Oesophagostomum dentatum (P = 4%), Globocephalus sp. (P = 7.5%), Metastrongylus sp. (P = 7.5%), Hyostrongylus sp. (P = 18.5%) y Trichuris sp. (P = 4%) (Nematoda) en el análisis coprológico y M. hirudinaceus (P = 33%) y A. suum (P = 23%); O. dentatum (P = 3%) y quistes hidatídicos de Echinococcus sp. (P = 20%) (Cestoda, Taeniidae) en la prospección helmintológica. Los valores de asociación del índice de Fager fueron no significativos con excepción del par Isospora sp.-Eimeria sp. El presente estudio muestra que la población de cerdos silvestres de Bahía Samborombón presenta una alta riqueza de especies parásitas, muchas de las cuales revisten importancia zoonótica como Eimeria sp., Isospora sp., Macracanthorhynchus sp., Ascaris sp. y Echinococcus sp.In Argentina little is known about the parasitofauna in wild pigs. This work discloses parasitic species in a wild population of Sus scrofa in the Bahía Samborombón protected area. Fecal samples were taken from 30 individuals and their viscera were prospected. The total prevalence (P) was 90%, with a specific richness of 11. In the coprological analysis were detected: Eimeria sp. (P = 18.5%), Isospora sp. (P = 22%) (Coccidia), Iodamoeba sp. (P = 52%) (Amoebidae), Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (P = 33%) (Acanthocephala), Ascaris suum (P = 22%), Oesophagostomum dentatum (P = 4%), Globocephalus sp. (P = 7.5%), Metastrongylus sp. (P = 7.5%), Hyostrongylus sp. (P = 18.5%), and Trichuris sp. (P = 4%) (Nematoda). In the helminthological prospections were observed juveniles and adults of M. hirudinaceus (P = 33%) and A. suum (P = 23%); O. dentatum (P = 3%) and hydatid cysts of Echinococcus sp. (P = 20%) (Cestoda, Taeniidae). The association values of the Fager index were not significant except for the pair Isospora sp.-Eimeria sp. The present study shows that the population of wild pigs of Samborombón Bay presents a high richness of parasitic species, many of which have zoonotic importance such as Eimeria sp., Isospora sp., Macracanthorhynchus sp., Ascaris sp., and Echinococcus sp.Fil: Ciocco, Rocio B.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, Pablo. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Organismo Provincial Para El Desarrollo Sostenible; ArgentinaFil: Castresana, Marcela Beatriz. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Organismo Provincial Para El Desarrollo Sostenible; ArgentinaFil: Notarnicola, Juliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentin

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) population as reservoirs for deleterious mutations in the RYR1 gene associated with Porcine Stress Syndrome

Porcine Stress Syndrome (PSS) is a disorder codified by the ryanodine receptor 1 gene (RYR1) and affects both animal welfare and the quality of the meat product. As a consequence, individuals with this syndrome generate great worldwide economic losses in the porcine industry. In Argentina, the Buenos Aires Province is the most involved on this activity, and productions are to be in open field with a higher frequency of pigs with diverse pathologies. On the other hand, the biggest and oldest wild pigs population is located on the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province, which presents a continuous bidirectional flow of individuals with the productive areas nearby. The aim of this study is to detect the presence of the RYR1 deleterious allele in the wild population from the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires, in order to evaluate its possible role as a genetic reservoir for said allele. For this purpose, 106 wild pigs from 28 sites were studied, finding a 6.6% of carrier individuals, indicating that the wild population is not free of this allele. This constitutes the first analysis to detect the presence of the RYR1 deleterious allele, associated to the PSS in wild pigs from Argentina, being one of the few studies to report it worldwide and suggesting wild pigs populations to be a possible genetic reservoir for this disease.EEA Marcos JuárezFil: Acosta, Diana Belén. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Español, Laureano Ángel. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones Básicas y Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, Carlos Ezequiel. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Marini, Sebastián José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Mac Allister, Matías Exequiel. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Administración. Gestión Ambiental/Ecología; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Gabriela Paula. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones; Argentina.Fil: Merino, Mariano Lisandro. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones; Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Characterization of new strains of Pseudorabies virus in Argentina: Detection of interspecies transmission

Background: Aujeszky's disease is mainly a swine disease, still endemic worldwide. It can infect other mammalians, including human beings, and it is usually fatal with nervous symptoms. Ever since the disease was detected in 1988 in Argentina, many outbreaks have been reported involving both feral swine and dogs. Aim: At present, in Argentina, Pseudorabies virus (PRV) cases are sporadically reported; however, clinical cases are informed. This study aims to obtain information about the seroprevalence of PRV in wild boars and to isolate and characterize PRV from clinical samples. Methods: From 2018 to 2019, 78 wild boars’ serum samples from Bahía de Samborombón natural reserve were analyzed for antibodies to PRV using a virus neutralization test. Clinical samples from 17 pigs, 2 wild boars, 1 dog, and 1 cat were collected from 2013 to 2019 for viral isolation and detection of the presence of the gD gene by PCR. For sequence analysis, the gC partial gene was amplified. Results: Five strains were isolated from the dog, cat, and swine samples. The new PRV strains identified were confirmed by BLAST analysis, which revealed between 99.74% and 100% of similarity to the NIA-3 strain and phylogenetic analysis of the partial gene encoding the gC protein revealed that the PRV strains have divided into two main clades, clade 1 and clade 2. Conclusion: This report informed that most new cases of PRV were detected in the central regions of Argentina, where pig production is concentrated. The study in Bahía de Samborombón revealed a high percentage of detection but, the sampling is not representative of that of the rest of the country. Therefore, a systematic sampling effort of wild boar throughout the country should be included in the national program control. Although in Argentina only the inactivated Bartha vaccine is allowed, recombination risk should not be ignored if attenuated vaccines are incorporated into the National control plan. The two strains, one from the cat and one from the dog sample, are directly related to infected swine. The information about clinical cases and molecular characterization of new strains is important for a better understanding of the dynamics of PRV and to promote preventive measures.Fil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cappuccio, Javier Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fossaroli, Melisa Gisele. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Williman, Macarena Marta. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Dibárbora, Marina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Brizzio, Renata. Universidad Católica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Metz, German Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Aspitia, Carolina Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Alejandro. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimento. Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Instituto Ciencias Sociales y Administracion; ArgentinaFil: Echeverria, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentin

Wild pigs and their widespread threat to biodiversity conservation in South America

Wild pigs, including wild boar (Sus scrofa) and feral domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica), are associated with negative impacts in their native and introduced ranges. We compiled wild pig occurrence reports and utilized Maximum Entropy modelling to predict their potential distribution in ecoregions overlaying Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. An analysis of their observed and potential distributions was carried out in relation to four biodiversity hotspots and 3766 protected areas to estimate the number of units and percent area currently and potentially invaded. Among biodiversity hotspots, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests included 44.7% of wild pig records. The proportion of suitable area was 85% in Atlantic Forest, 61.3% in Cerrado, 37.5% in Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests, and 5.6% in Tropical Andes. The number of protected areas with known wild pig presence was led by Uruguay (100%), followed by Chile (20.3%), Argentina (15.8%), Paraguay (9.5%), Bolivia (6.5%), and Brazil (4.7%). The proportion of protected areas with predicted wild pig presence was highest in Uruguay (100%), followed by Paraguay (72.6%), Brazil (58.0%), Argentina (57.4%), Chile (42.2%), and Bolivia (35.9%). Our work represents the first assessment of wild pig potential distribution in South America and highlights the potentially devastating impacts of wild pigs on the regional biodiversity and national conservation targets, especially at mega-diverse areas. We present a dynamic web application that can be readily consulted by scientists, managers and decision makers to improve wild pig control and risk mitigation actions in the study region.Fil: la Sala, Luciano Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Burgos, Julian Mariano. Marine and Freshwater Research Institute; IslandiaFil: Caruso, Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Bagnato, Camilo Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; ArgentinaFil: Ballari, Sebastián A.. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Guadagnin, Demetrio L.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Kindel, Andreas. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Etges, Matheus. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Merino, Mariano Lisandro. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Marcos, Andrea. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimento. Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Skewes, Oscar. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Schettino, Daniella. Instituto de Defesa Agropecuária de Mato Grosso; BrasilFil: Perez, Andres Maximiliano. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Condorí, Walter Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Tammone Santos, Agostina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Instituto Ciencias Sociales y Administracion; ArgentinaFil: Zalba, Sergio Martín. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in feral pig populations from Argentina

In Argentina, domestic pigs (Sus scrofa Linnaeus 1758) were introduced during the first Buenos Aires foundation, in the year 1536. Their provenance was mainly from the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. In 1541 those pigs were released and, consequently, the first feral populations were originated. Thereafter, the species propagated both naturally and through human action, reaching a distribution that covers most of the Argentinian territory. The objective of this study is to genetically characterize the oldest feral pig populations in Argentina, making use of the mitochondrial control region (CR) and the amelogenin gene (AmelY), in order to determine their phylogenetic origin and corroborate its consistency with the historic information. The obtained results indicate that most of the feral pigs in Corrientes and Buenos Aires populations are positioned in the European subclades, E1-A and E1-C for CR, and HY1 and HY2 for AmelY. Despite this fact, a low frequency of individuals of Asian origin was found in populations from Buenos Aires, whereas none of them disclosed African ancestry. Furthermore, given that a large proportion of feral pigs found in the species’ original sites in Argentina have European ancestry, we can partially corroborate the historical records.Fil: Acosta, Diana Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, Carlos Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Gabriela Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Merino, Mariano Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Diet and stomach characteristics of feral piglets (Sus scrofa): Implications for farmed piglets

Evaluation of the diet of the pig (Sus scrofa) in natural settings may provide new views on diet optimization for growth and development of commercially raised piglets under farm conditions. A field study was conducted to gain insight in the diet and stomach characteristics of feral piglets. Forty animals (body weight: 4.6 ± 1.37 kg) were collected from the Bahía Samborombón (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Stomachs were weighed after storage in formalin and the particle size distribution of their contents was determined by wet sieving. Diet items present in their stomachs were classified and their proportional weight and relative abundance was calculated. Based on their dentition, 5, 16 and 19 piglets were approximately 1, 3–6 and 6–16 weeks of age respectively. Vegetable matter (mainly ‘leaves and stems’) was predominantly present in 39 animals. It represented on average 83 ± 36.4% of total stomach contents by weight. The stomachs of 12 piglets contained curd and represented on average 16 ± 35.1% by weight. Other diet items were less abundant or absent. The proportion of stomach particles retained were 24%, 13%, 22%, 13% and 28% for sieves with mesh sizes of 2000, 1000, 420, 210 and <210 µm respectively. For comparison, we used data of farmed piglets of similar age and fed a nutrient-dense, finely ground diet. Feral piglets' relative empty stomach weights increased with age (p < 0.050), whereas this was not the case for farmed piglets. Relative stomach contents weight increased significantly with age only for farmed piglets (p < 0.050). We infer from our data that feral suckling piglets consumed a variety of non-milk items, mainly consisting of vegetable material with a coarse particle size from their first week in life onwards. Their diet is associated with an enhanced stomach development compared to those of farmed piglets.Fil: van Hees, Hubèrt M. J.. University of Ghent; BélgicaFil: Ballari, Sebastián A.. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Dieste Pérez, Lucía. No especifíca;Fil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Janssens, Geert P. J.. University of Ghent; Bélgic

Inferring the origin and genetic diversity of the introduced wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Argentina: an approach from mitochondrial markers

The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) was introduced into Argentina at the beginning of the twentieth century when individuals from Europe were taken to La Pampa province for hunting purposes. Starting from there, a dispersal process began due to the invasive characteristics of the species and to human-mediated translocations. The main objective of this study was to characterize for the first time, the phylogenetic relationships among wild boars from Argentina with those from Uruguay, Europe, Asia, and the Near East, along with diverse domestic pig breeds in order to corroborate the historical information about the origin of the local populations. To this end, we used mitochondrial Control Region and Cytochrome b sequences from sampled Argentinian wild boars and retrieved from GenBank. The results showed that the majority of the Argentinian wild boar populations descend from European lineages, in particular of the E1 clade, according to the historical records. Remarkably, the population of El Palmar National Park had Asian origin that could be attributed to hybridization with local domestic pigs or to unrecorded translocations. Finally, genetic diversity in Argentinian populations was lower than in Europe and Uruguay meaning that wild boar in Argentina is still under the influence of founder effect and has experienced minor genetic introgression from domestic pigs, representing in this sense a reservoir of the original wild boar genetic variability.Fil: Sagua, Mara Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (Sede Pergamino); ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, Carlos Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (Sede Pergamino); ArgentinaFil: Acosta, Diana Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (Sede Pergamino); ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, G. P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (Sede Pergamino); ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Birochio, Diego Enrique. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Merino, Mariano Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Bioinvestigaciones (Sede Pergamino); Argentin

Evidence of hybridization between wild boars and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) from Argentina: implications for the success of the invasion process

Hybridization between individuals of different subspecies play an important role in evolutionary processes. These crosses in exotic species have been reported to generate effects such as alterations in the local gene pool, enhance genetic variability, morphological and coat colour changes, which gives it a greater adaptive potential and, thus an increase in invasiveness. Sus scrofa do not escape this scenario, since cases of hybridization between wild boars and their domestics have been reported in several European countries. In Argentina, S. scrofa is one of the most concerning invasive species, and distributed throughout most of the country, generating contact sites between the wild (wild boar and feral pig) and domestic forms. Recently, genetic studies suggested the possible hybridization between wild boars and feral pigs from Argentina, so the aim of this study was to determine for the first time if such hybridization occurs, as well as to quantify the genetic diversity in a population of feral pigs from the Buenos Aires province, through molecular markers MC1R, NR6A1, control region and microsatellites. For this purpose, N = 161 samples were collected at 34 sampling sites. Through the markers MC1R, NR6A1 and the mitochondrial control region, hybrid individuals and pure wild boars were found. On the other hand, the diversity indexes evaluated with the control region and microsatellites were higher than expected. Therefore, this work reports for the first time the effective cross between wild boars and feral pigs from Argentina, as well as a high genetic diversity, which could positively contribute to the effect as an invasive alien species.Fil: Acosta, Diana Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, Carlos Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Gabriela Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Mac Allister, Matias Exequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Carpinetti, Bruno Nicolás. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Gianmarco, Lucila Maité. Universidad del País Vasco; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Merino, Mariano Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentin