Khaled Mohamed El-Dakhly1, Waleed M Arafa2, Saad Soliman3, Omima Ramadan Abdel-Fatah4, Ahmed Anwar Wahba5, Maria D Esteve-Gasent6, Patricia J Holman6. 1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt. eldakley_s71@yahoo.com. 2. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt. 3. Directorate of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Administration, El-Dakhla, El-Wadi El-Gadid, Egypt. 4. Animal Health Research Institute, El-Fayoum, Egypt. 5. Animal Health Research Institute, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. 6. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-4467, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Under the poor hygienic conditions, tick-borne pathogens cause severe economic losses to the cattle industry. PURPOSE: The current study investigated the presence of Theileria annulata, Babesia bigemina, and Anaplasma marginale, the most relevant tick-borne pathogens in cattle, in 3 provinces of Egypt utilizing species-specific PCR assays. METHODS: PCR was conducted, on bovine blood specimens, using primers targeting the T. annulata merozoite-piroplasm surface antigen (Tams1, 768 bp), A. marginale major surface protein-1b gene (msp1b, 265 bp), and B. bigemina small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSrRNA, 543 bp). RESULTS: PCR findings revealed overall prevalences of T. annulata, B. bigemina, and A. marginale as 22.0% (33/150), 19.33% (29/150), and 10.6% (16/150), respectively. The co-infection with two or three pathogens was detected in 20.0% (30/150) of examined specimens. Sequence analyses indicated that T. annulata and A. marginale varied from those of corresponding GenBank sequences revealing percent identities ranging from 90.68 to 97.75% and from 94.98 to 98.63%, respectively. On the other hand, the obtained B. bigemina sequences showed a high similarity with those previously reported in GenBank with a percent identity ranging from 98.85 to 100%. CONCLUSION: T. annulata was the most prevalent tick-borne pathogen in examined bovine specimens. The genetic diversity of markers used for identification of T. annulata and A. marginale should be highly considered.
BACKGROUND: Under the poor hygienic conditions, tick-borne pathogens cause severe economic losses to the cattle industry. PURPOSE: The current study investigated the presence of Theileria annulata, Babesia bigemina, and Anaplasma marginale, the most relevant tick-borne pathogens in cattle, in 3 provinces of Egypt utilizing species-specific PCR assays. METHODS: PCR was conducted, on bovine blood specimens, using primers targeting the T. annulata merozoite-piroplasm surface antigen (Tams1, 768 bp), A. marginale major surface protein-1b gene (msp1b, 265 bp), and B. bigemina small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSrRNA, 543 bp). RESULTS: PCR findings revealed overall prevalences of T. annulata, B. bigemina, and A. marginale as 22.0% (33/150), 19.33% (29/150), and 10.6% (16/150), respectively. The co-infection with two or three pathogens was detected in 20.0% (30/150) of examined specimens. Sequence analyses indicated that T. annulata and A. marginale varied from those of corresponding GenBank sequences revealing percent identities ranging from 90.68 to 97.75% and from 94.98 to 98.63%, respectively. On the other hand, the obtained B. bigemina sequences showed a high similarity with those previously reported in GenBank with a percent identity ranging from 98.85 to 100%. CONCLUSION:T. annulata was the most prevalent tick-borne pathogen in examined bovine specimens. The genetic diversity of markers used for identification of T. annulata and A. marginale should be highly considered.
Authors: Hany M Ibrahim; Eloiza May S Galon; Maria Agnes Tumwebaze; Benedicto Byamukama; Mingming Liu; Khaled Mohammed-Geba; Sherin K Sheir; Asmaa Galal-Khallaf; Heba M Abd El Latif; Dalia S Morsi; Nora M Bishr; Xuenan Xuan Journal: Acta Parasitol Date: 2021-05-27 Impact factor: 1.440