A novel lineage of Chilomastix mesnili in wild Moroccan Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Wild Moroccan Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) harbor a well-supported Chilomastix lineage distinct from human-derived Chilomastix mesnili ST1, based on 11 matching rRNA sequences.

• Why it matters: Host specificity and taxonomy of Chilomastix lineages remain uncertain, and these intestinal protists are poorly studied with molecular methods.
• What they did: The study mined 50 Moroccan wild macaque faecal metagenomic libraries for 11 Chilomastix rRNA sequences and compared them with published 18S rRNA data, then reconstructed the complete rDNA operon.
• The result: The macaque sequences form a clade distinct from Indonesian human C. mesnili ST1 and cluster with a pig-derived isolate and two Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) sequences, implying geographic spread beyond humans.