FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Transbound Emerg Dis / Analysis of Theileria equi diversity in The Gambia using a n...
Transboundary and emerging diseases2019; 67(3); 1213-1221; doi: 10.1111/tbed.13454

Analysis of Theileria equi diversity in The Gambia using a novel genotyping method.

Abstract: Theileria equi, one of the primary pathogens causing equine piroplasmosis, has previously been sub-classified into a number of clades on the basis of 18S SSU rRNA gene sequence diversity. This partitioning of the parasite population has potential implications for host immunity, treatment and vaccine development. To detect and identify different clade genotypes among and within individual equine blood samples, a novel PCR-based technique was designed and optimized. Theileria equi has only recently been described in The Gambia, and the developed genotyping technique was used to analyse blood samples taken from 42 piroplasmosis-positive horses and donkeys within the country. Three different T. equi genotypes were detected within the population, including the same genotype as the recently described Theileria haneyi, with 61.9% of individuals found to be infected with more than one genotype. Overall, there was a trend that males were more likely to have a multiple genotype infection. Thus, the novel genotyping technique has been shown to be effective in analysis of field populations and offers researchers a rapid method of identifying multiple T. equi genotypes both within individuals and equine populations in epidemiological studies.
© 2019 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2019-12-29 PubMed ID: 31845493DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13454Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research involves developing a novel genotyping method to identify different clades of Theileria equi, a pathogen causing equine piroplasmosis, in The Gambia. The newly developed PCR-based technique proves effective in identifying multiple genotypes within individual equine blood samples and within equine populations, with this data potentially influencing treatments and vaccine developments.

Objective and Methodology of the Research

  • The research focuses on developing a PCR-based genotyping technique to identify, detect, and differentiate T. equi genotypes within individual equine blood samples and within equine populations.
  • The new technique was optimized and used to evaluate samples from 42 piroplasmosis-positive horses and donkeys in The Gambia, where T. equi has recently been described.

Results and Findings

  • The analysis identified three different T. equi genotypes within the population, including a genotype similar to the recently described Theileria haneyi.
  • Over half (61.9%) of the individuals were found to be infected with more than one genotype.
  • There was a noticeable trend that male individuals were more likely to have a multiple genotype infection than their female counterparts.

Implications and Impact of the Research

  • The research provides a method for rapidly identifying multiple T. equi genotypes within individuals and equine populations in epidemiological studies. Previously, T. equi was classified into several clades based on the diversity of 18S SSU rRNA gene sequence, and this new method provides a more detailed and effective approach.
  • It is especially useful in areas like The Gambia where T. equi has only recently been reported. The research not only provides insights into the parasite’s prevalence but also its genotypes and their distribution.
  • Understanding the different T. equi genotypes and their presence can have significant implications for the strategies used for treatment, vaccine development, and managing host immunity.

Cite This Article

APA
Coultous RM, McDonald M, Raftery AG, Shiels BR, Sutton DGM, Weir W. (2019). Analysis of Theileria equi diversity in The Gambia using a novel genotyping method. Transbound Emerg Dis, 67(3), 1213-1221. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13454

Publication

Transboundary and emerging diseases
ISSN: 1865-1682
NlmUniqueID: 101319538
Country: Germany
Language: English
Volume: 67
Issue: 3
Pages: 1213-1221

Researcher Affiliations

Coultous, Robert M
  • Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
McDonald, Michael
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Raftery, Alexandra G
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Shiels, Brian R
  • Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Sutton, David G M
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Weir, William
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Gambia / epidemiology
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genotyping Techniques / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Prevalence
  • RNA, Protozoan / analysis
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / analysis
  • Theileria / genetics
  • Theileriasis / epidemiology
  • Theileriasis / virology

Grant Funding

  • VET/RS/254 / Horserace Betting Levy Board
  • 190648 / Donkey Sanctuary
  • 190895 / Donkey Sanctuary

References

This article includes 31 references
  1. Aharonson-Raz K, Rapoport A, Hawari IM, Lensky IM, Berlin D, Zivotofsky D, Steinmen A. Novel description of force of infection and risk factors associated with Theileria equi in horses in Israel and in The Palestinian Authority. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 5, 366-372.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2014.01.002google scholar: lookup
  2. Alanazi AD, Said AE, Morin-Adeline V, Alyousif MS, Slapeta J. Quantitative PCR detection of Theileria equi using laboratory workflows to detect asymptomatic persistently infected horses. Veterinary Parasitology 206, 138-145.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.09.019google scholar: lookup
  3. Bhoora R, Franssen L, Oosthuizen MC, Guthrie AJ, Zweygarth E, Penzhorn BL, Collins NE. Sequence heterogeneity in the 18S rRNA gene within Theileria equi and Babesia caballi from horses in South Africa. Veterinary Parasitology 159, 112-120.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.10.004google scholar: lookup
  4. Bhoora R, Quan M, Matjila PT, Zweygarth E, Guthrie AJ, Collins NE. Sequence heterogeneity in the equi merozoite antigen gene (ema-1) of Theileria equi and development of an ema-1-specific TaqMan MGB assay for the detection of T. equi. Veterinary Parasitology 172, 33-45.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.04.025google scholar: lookup
  5. Coultous RM, Phipps P, Dalley C, Lewis J, Hammond TA, Shiels BR, Sutton DGM. Equine piroplasmosis status in the UK: An assessment of laboratory diagnostic submissions and techniques. The Veterinary Record 184, 95.
    doi: 10.1136/vr.104855google scholar: lookup
  6. Criado-Fornelio A, Martinez-Marcos A, Buling-Sarana A, Barba-Carretero JC. Molecular studies on Babesia, Theileria and Hepatozoon in southern Europe. Part I. Epizootiological aspects. Veterinary Parasitology 113, 189-201.
    doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(03)00078-5google scholar: lookup
  7. Edgar RC. MUSCLE: Multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. Nucleic Acids Research 32, 1792-1797.
    doi: 10.1093/nar/gkh340google scholar: lookup
  8. Garcia-Bocanegra I, Arenas-Montes A, Hernández E, Adaszek L, Carbonero A, Almería S, Arenas A. Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Babesia caballi and Theileria equi infection in equids. The Veterinary Journal 195, 172-178.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2012.06.012google scholar: lookup
  9. Guidi E, Pradier S, Lebert I, Leblond A. Piroplasmosis in an endemic area: Analysis of the risk factors and their implications in the control of Theileriosis and Babesiosis in horses. Parasitology Research 114, 71-83.
    doi: 10.1007/s00436-014-4161-9google scholar: lookup
  10. Hall CM, Busch JD, Scoles GA, Palma-Cagle KA, Ueti MW, Kappmeyer LS, Wagner DM. Genetic characterization of Theileria equi infecting horses in North America: Evidence for a limited source of US introductions. Parasites & Vectors 6, 35.
    doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-6-35google scholar: lookup
  11. Hemmink JD, Sitt T, Pelle R, de Klerk-Lorist LM, Shiels B, Toye PG, Weir W. Ancient diversity and geographical sub-structuring in African buffalo Theileria parva populations revealed through metagenetic analysis of antigen-encoding loci. International Journal for Parasitology 48, 287-296.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.10.006google scholar: lookup
  12. Klein SL. Hormonal and immunological mechanisms mediating sex differences in parasite infection. Parasite Immunology 26, 247-264.
    doi: 10.1111/j.0141-9838.2004.00710.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  13. Knowles DP, Kappmeyer LS, Haney D, Herndon DR, Fry LM, Munro JB, Silva JC. Discovery of a novel species, Theileria haneyi n. sp., infective to equids, highlights exceptional genomic diversity within the genus Theileria: Implications for apicomplexan parasite surveillance. International Journal for Parasitology 48, 679-690.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.03.010google scholar: lookup
  14. Kumar S, Stecher G, Tamura K. MEGA7: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33, 1870-1874.
    doi: 10.1093/molbev/msw054google scholar: lookup
  15. Larsson A. AliView: A fast and lightweight alignment viewer and editor for large datasets. Bioinformatics 30, 3276-3278.
    doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu531google scholar: lookup
  16. Laveran A. Contribution to the study of the Piroplasma equi. Comptes Rendus Des Seances De La Societe De Biologie Et De Ses Filiales 53, 385-388.
  17. Manna G, Cersini A, Nardini R, Bartolomé Del Pino LE, Antognetti V, Zini M, Sciclunaa MT. Genetic diversity of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infecting horses of Central-Southern Italy and preliminary results of its correlation with clinical and serological status. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 9, 1212-1220.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.05.005google scholar: lookup
  18. Munkhjargal T, Sivakumar T, Battsetseg B, Nyamjargal T, Aboulaila M, Purevtseren B, Igarashi I. Prevalence and genetic diversity of equine piroplasms in Tov province, Mongolia. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 16, 178-185.
    doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2013.02.005google scholar: lookup
  19. Nagore D, García-Sanmartín J, García-Pérez AL, Juste RA, Hurtado A. Detection and identification of equine Theileria and Babesia species by reverse line blotting: Epidemiological survey and phylogenetic analysis. Veterinary Parasitology 123, 41-54.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2004.04.010google scholar: lookup
  20. Nicolaiewsky TB, Richter MF, Lunge VR, Cunha CW, Delagostin O, Ikuta N, Ozaki LS. Detection of Babesia equi (Laveran, 1901) by nested polymerase chain reaction. Veterinary Parasitology 101, 9-21.
    doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(01)00471-xgoogle scholar: lookup
  21. Piantedosi D, D'Alessio N, Di Loria A, Di Prisco F, Mariani U, Neola B, Veneziano V. Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Babesia caballi and Theileria equi infections in donkeys from Southern Italy. The Veterinary Journal 202, 578-582.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.09.025google scholar: lookup
  22. Qablan MA, Obornik M, Petrželková KJ, Sloboda M, Shudiefat MF, Horin P, Modry D. Infections by Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in Jordanian equids: Epidemiology and genetic diversity. Parasitology 140, 1096-1103.
    doi: 10.1017/s0031182013000486google scholar: lookup
  23. Qablan MA, Sloboda M, Jirku M, Obornik M, Dwairi S, Amr ZS, Modry D. Quest for the piroplasms in camels: Identification of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in Jordanian dromedaries by PCR. Veterinary Parasitology 186, 456-460.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.11.070google scholar: lookup
  24. Raftery AG, Jallow S, Rodgers J, Sutton DGM. Safety and efficacy of three trypanocides in confirmed field cases of trypanosomiasis in working equines in The Gambia: A prospective, randomised, non-inferiority trial. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13, e0007175.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007175google scholar: lookup
  25. Rapoport A, Aharonson-Raz K, Berlin D, Tal S, Gottlieb Y, Klement E, Steinman A. Molecular characterization of the Babesia caballi rap-1 gene and epidemiological survey in horses in Israel. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 23, 115-120.
    doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2014.01.033google scholar: lookup
  26. RStudio Team. RStudio: Integrated development for R. Boston, MA: RStudio, Inc..
  27. Salim B, Bakheit MA, Kamau J, Nakamura I, Sugimoto C. Nucleotide sequence heterogeneity in the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene within Theileria equi from horses in Sudan. Parasitology Research 106, 493-498.
    doi: 10.1007/s00436-009-1691-7google scholar: lookup
  28. Sears KP, Kappmeyer LS, Wise LN, Silva M, Ueti MW, White S, Knowles DP. Infection dynamics of Theileria equi and Theileria haneyi, a newly discovered apicomplexan of the horse. Veterinary Parasitology 271, 68-75.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2019.06.009google scholar: lookup
  29. Sevinc F, Maden M, Kumas C, Sevinc M, Ekici OD. A comparative study on the prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infections in horse sub-populations in Turkey. Veterinary Parasitology 156, 173-177.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.06.006google scholar: lookup
  30. Weir W, Karagenc T, Gharbi M, Simuunza M, Aypak S, Aysul N, Tait A. Population diversity and multiplicity of infection in Theileria annulata. International Journal for Parasitology 41, 193-203.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2010.08.004google scholar: lookup
  31. Wise LN, Kappmeyer LS, Mealey RH, Knowles DP. Review of equine piroplasmosis. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 27, 1334-1346.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.12168google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 5 times.
  1. Coultous R, Gotić J, McCann M, Sutton D, Beck R, Shiels B. Novel equi merozoite antigen (ema-1) gene heterogeneity in a geographically isolated Theileria equi population in Croatia.. Parasit Vectors 2022 Oct 31;15(1):401.
    doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05484-4pubmed: 36316753google scholar: lookup
  2. Sears KP, Knowles DP, Fry LM. Clinical Progression of Theileria haneyi in Splenectomized Horses Reveals Decreased Virulence Compared to Theileria equi.. Pathogens 2022 Feb 16;11(2).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens11020254pubmed: 35215197google scholar: lookup
  3. Sears K, Knowles D, Dinkel K, Mshelia PW, Onzere C, Silva M, Fry L. Imidocarb Dipropionate Lacks Efficacy against Theileria haneyi and Fails to Consistently Clear Theileria equi in Horses Co-Infected with T. haneyi.. Pathogens 2020 Dec 10;9(12).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens9121035pubmed: 33321715google scholar: lookup
  4. Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Fry LM, Knowles DP, Steinman A. Twenty Years of Equine Piroplasmosis Research: Global Distribution, Molecular Diagnosis, and Phylogeny.. Pathogens 2020 Nov 8;9(11).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens9110926pubmed: 33171698google scholar: lookup
  5. Mshelia PW, Kappmeyer L, Johnson WC, Kudi CA, Oluyinka OO, Balogun EO, Richard EE, Onoja E, Sears KP, Ueti MW. Molecular detection of Theileria species and Babesia caballi from horses in Nigeria.. Parasitol Res 2020 Sep;119(9):2955-2963.
    doi: 10.1007/s00436-020-06797-ypubmed: 32647992google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.