Molecular detection and identification of piroplasms in sika deer (Cervus nippon) from Jilin Province, China.

Junlong Liu,Bingjie Wang,Jifei Yang,Hong Yin,Jianxun Luo,Aihong Liu,Guiquan Guan

doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1435-3

Junlong Liu, Bingjie Wang + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-016-1435-3

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Journal: Parasites & Vectors	Publication Date: Mar 16, 2016
Citations: 28	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute

Abstract

BackgroundPiroplasmosis is an important disease of domestic animals and wildlife and is caused by organisms from the genera Theileria and Babesia. Wildlife such as sika deer play an important role as reservoir hosts for several species of Theileria and Babesia. Using blood samples collected from sika deer, we investigated the epidemiology of Theileria spp. and Babesia spp. in sika deer from Jilin Province in China and identified those species that cause pathogenic infections in sika deer.MethodsSixty-eight blood samples of sika deer were collected from three areas of the Jilin Province in Northeast China. Genomic DNA was extracted, and the V4 hypervariable region of the 18S rRNA of the piroplasms was amplified using the nested PCR method. The selected positive samples were sequenced to identify species of Babesia and Theileria.ResultsPCR detection revealed that 24 samples were positive for Theileria and Babesia spp. (35.29 %, 95 % CI = 11.8-46.8). After alignment, a sequenced fragment for Theileria cervi was found to be the most prevalent from the obtained samples (22.06 %, 95 % CI = 11.8-49.6). Six sika deer samples were identified as being infected with a Theileria sp. that was similar to a Theileria sp. found from spotted deer in India. In addition to the results above, for the first time, we identified T. annulata infection from one sample of sika deer and Babesia sp. from two samples, which showed high identity with Babesia motasi found in sheep from China.ConclusionThe present study offers new data on the pathogens of piroplasmosis in sika deer in northeastern China. For the first time, sika deer was confirmed as a reservoir host for the T. annulata of cattle and the B. motasi of sheep, which was found in China.

Highlights

Piroplasmosis is an important disease of domestic animals and wildlife and is caused by organisms from the genera Theileria and Babesia
Theileria cervi is a nonpathogenic parasite found in different deer species including white-tail deer, elk, mule deer and pampas deer, which is transmitted by Amblyomma americanum in the USA [3, 4]
The DNA of the Babesia and Theileria spp. samples was detected with nested PCR targeting the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene

Summary

Introduction

Piroplasmosis is an important disease of domestic animals and wildlife and is caused by organisms from the genera Theileria and Babesia. Wildlife such as sika deer play an important role as reservoir hosts for several species of Theileria and Babesia. Piroplasmosis is an important tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants and is caused by different species of Theileira and Babesia all around the world. Theileria spp. are cosmopolitan tick-borne protozoan pathogens that can infect both livestock and wild ruminants [1]. Theileria capreoli Rukhlyadev was first morphologically described from roe deer; similar Theileria species, including Theileria sp. ZS TO4, have been described in red deer, roe deer and

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