Three operational taxonomic units of Eimeria are common in Nigerian chickens and may undermine effective molecular diagnosis of coccidiosis

BMC Veterinary Research

Research Article

Idris A. Lawal¹  Jacob K. P. Kwaga¹  Andrew J. Nok¹  Isa D. Jatau¹  Damer P. Blake²  Fiona M. Tomley² 

[1] Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria;Pathology and Pathogen Biology, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, AL9 7TA, North Mymms, UK;

关键词: Eimeria;    Chickens;    Nigeria;    Poultry;    Prevalence;    Operational taxonomic unit;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-016-0713-9

 received in 2015-10-06, accepted in 2016-05-30,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChicken is fast becoming the world’s most consumed meat. As a consequence poultry health is more important now than ever before, with pathogens of chickens recognised as serious threats to food security. One such threat are Eimeria species parasites, protozoa which can cause the disease coccidiosis. Eimeria can compromise economic poultry production and chicken welfare, and have serious consequences for poor livestock keepers. Seven Eimeria species that infect chickens are recognised with a global enzootic distribution. More recently three cryptic Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUx, y and z) have been described in populations of Eimeria recovered from chickens in Australia. Two of the three OTUs have also been detected in sub-Saharan Africa, but their occurrence, pathology and the risk they pose is largely unknown.ResultsNigeria has witnessed a dramatic expansion in poultry production and is now the largest poultry producer in Africa. Here, faecal samples collected from nine of 12 commercial chicken farms sampled in Kaduna state, Nigeria, were found to contain eimerian oocysts. After amplification by in vivo propagation all three cryptic OTU genotypes were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including OTUy for the first time outside of Australia. Comparison with a widely used, established Eimeria species-specific PCR assay revealed failure to detect the OTU genotypes.ConclusionsAll three of the Eimeria OTU genotypes appear to be common in north-western Nigeria. The failure of a leading species-specific molecular assay to detect these genotypes indicates a risk of false negative Eimeria diagnosis when using molecular tools and suggests that the spatial occurrence of each OTU may be far wider than has been recognised. The risk posed by these novel genotypes is unknown, but it is clear that a better understanding of Eimeria occurrence is required together with the validation of effective diagnostics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016