Abstract
This study reports the first molecular characterization of Theileria orientalis in local breeds of cattle in Ethiopia. A conventional PCR utilizing major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene and an established multiplexed tandem PCR (MT-PCR) were used to characterize T. orientalis and to assess the infection intensity, respectively. Of 232 blood samples tested, T. orientalis DNA was detected in only 2.2% of samples using conventional PCR; two genotypes buffeli (1.3%; 3/232) and type 5 (0.9%; 2/232) of T. orientalis were detected. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the buffeli MPSP sequences from Ethiopia were closely related to those reported from Kenya, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and type 5 sequences from Ethiopia grouped with those from Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. A higher number of samples (3.9%; 9/232) were test-positive by MT-PCR and four genotypes (buffeli, chitose, ikeda and type 5) of T. orientalis were detected. The average intensity of infections with genotypes buffeli (DNA copy numbers 11,056) and type 5 (7508) were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than the pathogenic genotype ikeda (61 DNA copies). This first insight into T. orientalis from cattle in Ethiopia using MPSP gene provides a basis for future studies of T. orientalis in various agroclimatic zones and of the impact of oriental theilerosis on cattle in this and other countries of Africa.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 742-747 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jul 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This project was partially supported by Collaborative Research and Early Career Researchers grants (the University of Melbourne) (A.J.) and the Australian Research Council (ARC) (R.B.G. et al.). H.G. is a grateful recipient of the Melbourne International Research Scholarships (MIRS) and Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarships (MIFRS) through The University of Melbourne. The Easy-Plex platform (AusDiagnostics) used in this project was bought under project 1043, funded by Water Quality Research Australia , and contributions from the Melbourne Water Corporation (Dr Aaron R. Jex). The authors thank Drs. Osnat Eyal, Roni King and Prof. Charles Jaffe for their assistance. Sample collection was funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program (grant number OPPGH5336 ) “Ecology and transmission dynamics of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Ethiopia”. We thank the farmers for donating blood samples.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier GmbH
Keywords
- Cattle
- Ethiopia
- MT-PCR
- PCR
- Theileria orientalis