Abstract
Avian trichomonosis is primarily caused by Trichomonas gallinae, a flagellated protozoan parasite that especially infects the upper digestive tract of columbid bird species and their avian predators. However, this parasite has recently been found to be distributed worldwide in various other avian species. This parasitic disease is common in captive falcons in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. This study aimed to examine and identify the genetic variation of T. gallinae obtained from three species of falcons in Saudi Arabia via the sequencing analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Swab samples from 97 saker falcons (Falco cherrug), 24 peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and 37 gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) were cultured and analysed for infection between 2018 and 2019. The overall prevalence of infection by T. gallinae was 26.58% (n = 42), of which 35 (83.33%) were collected from Riyadh region and seven (16.67%) were collected from Qassim region. The results indicate the presence of four genotypes of T. gallinae in Saudi falcons: A, C, II, and KSA11. This study reports for the first time genetic diversity of T. gallinae in these falcons in Saudi Arabia.
Highlights
Avian trichomonosis is a parasitic disease caused by the flagellated protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae [1]
This study aimed to examine the genetic diversity of T. gallinae obtained from different falcon species in Saudi Arabia via the sequence analysis of 5.8S ribosomal RNA and its flanking internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2)
Three T. gallinae isolates, obtained from F. cherrug (n = 1) and F. peregrinus (n = 2), showed 100% identity to the KSA11 sequence originally obtained from a feral pigeon in Saudi Arabia (GenBank MK771135) [8]
Summary
Avian trichomonosis is a parasitic disease caused by the flagellated protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae [1]. This parasite infects the upper digestive tract of domestic and wild birds, including the mouth, crop, oesophagus and pharynx, causing erosions and necrotic lesions, as well as necrotic foci within internal organs, such as the liver and lungs. The main route of transmission of T. gallinae between birds includes the feeding of squabs by an adult, normal feeding via courtship billing during nesting, sharing contaminated food or water sources, and via predation and necrophagy from raptors in the wild [9,10]. Trichomonas gallinae in captive falcons in Saudi Arabia and Middle East seem to be related to the traditional Arabian falconry practices of training falcons using live or freshly domestic pigeons [11,12]
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