TY - JOUR
T1 - Multiyear Survey of Coccidia, Cryptosporidia, Microsporidia, Histomona, and Hematozoa in Wild Quail in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of Texas and Oklahoma, USA
AU - Xiang, Lixin
AU - Guo, Fengguang
AU - Yu, Yonglan
AU - Parson, Lacy S.
AU - LaCoste, Lloyd
AU - Gibson, Anna
AU - Presley, Steve M.
AU - Peterson, Markus
AU - Craig, Thomas M.
AU - Rollins, Dale
AU - Fedynich, Alan M.
AU - Zhu, Guan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2016 International Society of Protistologists
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - We developed nested PCR protocols and performed a multiyear survey on the prevalence of several protozoan parasites in wild northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) in the Rolling Plains ecoregion of Texas and Oklahoma (i.e. fecal pellets, bird intestines and blood smears collected between 2010 and 2013). Coccidia, cryptosporidia, and microsporidia were detected in 46.2%, 11.7%, and 44.0% of the samples (n = 687), whereas histomona and hematozoa were undetected. Coccidia consisted of one major and two minor Eimeria species. Cryptosporidia were represented by a major unknown Cryptosporidium species and Cryptosporidium baileyi. Detected microsporidia species were highly diverse, in which only 11% were native avian parasites including Encephalitozoon hellem and Encephalitozoon cuniculi, whereas 33% were closely related to species from insects (e.g. Antonospora, Liebermannia, and Sporanauta). This survey suggests that coccidia infections are a significant risk factor in the health of wild quail while cryptosporidia and microsporidia may be much less significant than coccidiosis. In addition, the presence of E. hellem and E. cuniculi (known to cause opportunistic infections in humans) suggests that wild quail could serve as a reservoir for human microsporidian pathogens, and individuals with compromised or weakened immunity should probably take precautions while directly handling wild quail.
AB - We developed nested PCR protocols and performed a multiyear survey on the prevalence of several protozoan parasites in wild northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) in the Rolling Plains ecoregion of Texas and Oklahoma (i.e. fecal pellets, bird intestines and blood smears collected between 2010 and 2013). Coccidia, cryptosporidia, and microsporidia were detected in 46.2%, 11.7%, and 44.0% of the samples (n = 687), whereas histomona and hematozoa were undetected. Coccidia consisted of one major and two minor Eimeria species. Cryptosporidia were represented by a major unknown Cryptosporidium species and Cryptosporidium baileyi. Detected microsporidia species were highly diverse, in which only 11% were native avian parasites including Encephalitozoon hellem and Encephalitozoon cuniculi, whereas 33% were closely related to species from insects (e.g. Antonospora, Liebermannia, and Sporanauta). This survey suggests that coccidia infections are a significant risk factor in the health of wild quail while cryptosporidia and microsporidia may be much less significant than coccidiosis. In addition, the presence of E. hellem and E. cuniculi (known to cause opportunistic infections in humans) suggests that wild quail could serve as a reservoir for human microsporidian pathogens, and individuals with compromised or weakened immunity should probably take precautions while directly handling wild quail.
KW - Cryptosporidium
KW - molecular epidemiology
KW - northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)
KW - protozoan parasites
KW - scaled quail (Callipepla squamata)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84977547326&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jeu.12330
DO - 10.1111/jeu.12330
M3 - Article
C2 - 27222431
AN - SCOPUS:84977547326
VL - 64
SP - 4
EP - 17
JO - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
JF - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
SN - 1066-5234
IS - 1
ER -