Please cite this article as: Yang, R., Brice, B., Elloit, A., Ryan, U., Morphological and molecular characterization of (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae) in a domestic pigeon ( Gmelin, 1789) in Australia, Experimental Parasitology (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2016 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTAn Eimeria species is described from a domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica). 21Sporulated oocysts (n = 35) were subspherical, with a smooth bi-layered oocyst wall (1.0 µm 22 thick). Oocysts measured 20.2 x 16.1 (22.0-18.9 x 15.7-18.9) µm, oocyst length/width (L/W) 23 ratio, 1.38. Oocyst residuum and a polar granule were present. The micropyle was absent. 24Sporocysts are elongate-ovoid, 13.0 x 6.1 (14.5-12.5 x 5.5-7.0) µm, sporocyst L/W ratio, 2.13 25 (2.0-2.2), sporocyst residuum was present, composed of numerous granules in a spherical or 26 ovoid mass. Each sporocyst contained 2 banana-shaped sporozoites, 12.3 x 3.5 (11.8-13.0 x 27 3.3-3.6) µm. A spherical-ellipsoid posterior refractile body was found in the sporozoites. A 28 nucleus was located immediately anterior to the posterior refractile body. Introduction 45 The domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica) is derived from the rock pigeon 46 (Columba livia), which is the world's oldest domesticated bird. The domestic pigeon was 47 initially introduced into Australia by European settlers (Croome and Shields, 1992). 48Coccidiosis is a widespread disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria 49 (Coccidia: Eimeriidae), which is a complex and diverse group of protozoan parasites (Tenter, 50 2002). Over 1,700 Eimeria species have been identified worldwide (Duszynski et al., 2000). 51In birds, pathogenic Eimeria causes enteric disease and major economic losses in the global 52 poultry industry (McDougald et al., 1997). (Varghese, 1978) and E. zenaidae (Adriano et al., 2003). However, 61 due to incomplete descriptions and lack of measurements for many Eimeria sp. from 62 Columbidae in the past, it is difficult to validate existing species and Duszynski et al. (2000) 63 have stated that it was likely only two species (E. labbeana and E. columbarum) occur in 64 pigeons. As a result of these difficulties, molecular tools are essential to accurately delimit 65 species and infer phylogenetic relationships among Eimeria species. 66 M A N U S C R I P T pigeon had a large old wound to the neck and another on a wing. It underwent surgery and 78 made a full recovery. A faecal sample was taken soon after admission and microscopy 79 revealed unsporulated coccidian oocysts. 80
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