20
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Epidemiology and molecular phylogeny of Babesia sp. in Little Penguins Eudyptula minor in Australia

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Highlights

          • We examined blood smears from 263 wild little penguins in southeastern Australia.

          • Babesia sp. was detected in penguins in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

          • True prevalence is estimated between 3.4% and 4.5%.

          • Babesia sp. from little penguins is closely related to B. poelea and B. uriae.

          • Babesia infections were assymptomatic.

          Graphical Abstract

          Abstract

          Blood parasites are potential threats to the health of penguins and to their conservation and management. Little penguins Eudyptula minor are native to Australia and New Zealand, and are susceptible to piroplasmids ( Babesia), hemosporidians ( Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium) and kinetoplastids ( Trypanosoma). We studied a total of 263 wild little penguins at 20 sites along the Australian southeastern coast, in addition to 16 captive-bred little penguins. Babesia sp. was identified in seven wild little penguins, with positive individuals recorded in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. True prevalence was estimated between 3.4% and 4.5%. Only round forms of the parasite were observed, and gene sequencing confirmed the identity of the parasite and demonstrated it is closely related to Babesia poelea from boobies ( Sula spp.) and B. uriae from murres ( Uria aalge). None of the Babesia-positive penguins presented signs of disease, confirming earlier suggestions that chronic infections by these parasites are not substantially problematic to otherwise healthy little penguins. We searched also for kinetoplastids, and despite targeted sampling of little penguins near the location where Trypanosoma eudyptulae was originally reported, this parasite was not detected.

          Related collections

          Most cited references68

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          The characterization of enzymatically amplified eukaryotic 16S-like rRNA-coding regions.

          Polymerase chain reaction conditions were established for the in vitro amplification of eukaryotic small subunit ribosomal (16S-like) rRNA genes. Coding regions from algae, fungi, and protozoa were amplified from nanogram quantities of genomic DNA or recombinant plasmids containing rDNA genes. Oligodeoxynucleotides that are complementary to conserved regions at the 5' and 3' termini of eukaryotic 16S-like rRNAs were used to prime DNA synthesis in repetitive cycles of denaturation, reannealing, and DNA synthesis. The fidelity of synthesis for the amplification products was evaluated by comparisons with sequences of previously reported rRNA genes or with primer extension analyses of rRNAs. Fewer than one error per 2000 positions were observed in the amplified rRNA coding region sequences. The primary structure of the 16S-like rRNA from the marine diatom, Skeletonema costatum, was inferred from the sequence of its in vitro amplified coding region.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            A comparative analysis of microscopy and PCR-based detection methods for blood parasites.

            We compared information obtained by both microscopy and nested mitochondrial cytochrome b PCR in determining prevalence of haemosporidian infections in naturally infected birds. Blood samples from 472 birds of 11 species belonging to 7 families and 4 orders were collected in Europe, Africa and North America. Skilled investigators investigated them using the PCR-based screening and microscopic examination of stained blood films. The overall prevalence of haemosporidian infections, which was determined combining results of both these methods, was 60%. Both methods slightly underestimated the overall prevalence of infection, which was 54.2% after the PCR diagnostics and 53.6% after microscopic examination. Importantly, both these tools showed the same trends of prevalence of Haemoproteus spp. (21% by PCR and 22% by microscopy), Plasmodium spp. (17% and 22%) and Leucocytozoon spp. (30% and 25%) in the same sample, testifying that microscopy is a reliable tool in determining patterns of distribution of blood haemosporidian parasites in naturally infected birds. We encourage using optical microscopy in studies of blood parasites in parallel to the now widely employed molecular methods. Microscopy is relatively inexpensive and provides valuable information about directions how molecular methods can be further improved and most effectively applied, especially in the field studies of parasites. Importantly, blood films, which are used for microscopic examination, should be of good quality; they should be examined properly by skilled investigators. In spite of relatively long duration of microscopy of each sample, such examination provides opportunities for simultaneous determination and verification of taxonomically different parasites. Presently, different PCR protocols must be used for the detection of parasites belonging to different genera; this is expensive and time-consuming.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Simultaneous detection of bovine Theileria and Babesia species by reverse line blot hybridization.

              A reverse line blot (RLB) assay was developed for the identification of cattle carrying different species of Theileria and Babesia simultaneously. We included Theileria annulata, T. parva, T. mutans, T. taurotragi, and T. velifera in the assay, as well as parasites belonging to the T. sergenti-T. buffeli-T. orientalis group. The Babesia species included were Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, and B. divergens. The assay employs one set of primers for specific amplification of the rRNA gene V4 hypervariable regions of all Theileria and Babesia species. PCR products obtained from blood samples were hybridized to a membrane onto which nine species-specific oligonucleotides were covalently linked. Cross-reactions were not observed between any of the tested species. No DNA sequences from Bos taurus or other hemoparasites (Trypanosoma species, Cowdria ruminantium, Anaplasma marginale, and Ehrlichia species) were amplified. The sensitivity of the assay was determined at 0.000001% parasitemia, enabling detection of the carrier state of most parasites. Mixed DNAs from five different parasites were correctly identified. Moreover, blood samples from cattle experimentally infected with two different parasites reacted only with the corresponding species-specific oligonucleotides. Finally, RLB was used to screen blood samples collected from carrier cattle in two regions of Spain. T. annulata, T. orientalis, and B. bigemina were identified in these samples. In conclusion, the RLB is a versatile technique for simultaneous detection of all bovine tick-borne protozoan parasites. We recommend its use for integrated epidemiological monitoring of tick-borne disease, since RLB can also be used for screening ticks and can easily be expanded to include additional hemoparasite species.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl
                Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl
                International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
                Elsevier
                2213-2244
                25 March 2015
                August 2015
                25 March 2015
                : 4
                : 2
                : 198-205
                Affiliations
                [a ]Laboratory of Wildlife Comparative Pathology (LAPCOM), Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil
                [b ]Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Australia
                [c ]International Fund for Animal Welfare, USA
                [d ]Birdlife Tasmania, Australia
                [e ]New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Australia
                [f ]Ecology and Environmental Management Group, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Australia
                [g ]Research Department, Phillip Island Nature Parks, Australia
                [h ]Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Mosman, Australia
                [i ]Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
                [j ]Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil
                [k ]Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analyses, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil
                Author notes
                [* ]Corresponding author. Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil. Tel.: +55 11 99917 3082; fax: +55 11 3091 1434. ralph_vanstreels@ 123456yahoo.com.br
                Article
                S2213-2244(15)00016-4
                10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.03.002
                4383760
                2f14444d-a1a1-486e-831c-23880e92097b
                © 2015 The Authors

                This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).

                History
                : 22 January 2015
                : 11 March 2015
                : 13 March 2015
                Categories
                Article

                blood parasite,health,piroplasmida,seabird,sphenisciformes,tick-borne pathogen

                Comments

                Comment on this article