PCR Identification and Phylogenetic Analysis of Trichomonas gallinae from Domestic Pigeons in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Avian trichomoniasis caused by Trichomonas gallinae is a serious protozoan disease worldwide. The domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica) is the main host for T. gallinae and plays an important role in the spread of the disease. Based on the internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA of this parasite, a pair of primers (TgF2/TgR2) was designed and used to develop a PCR assay for the diagnosis of T. gallinae infection in domestic pigeons. This approach allowed the identification of T. gallinae, and no amplicons were produced when using DNA from other common avian pathogens. The minimum amount of DNA detectable by the specific PCR assay developed in this study was 15 pg. Clinical samples from Guangzhou, China, were examined using this PCR assay and a standard microscopy method, and their molecular characteristics were determined by phylogenetic analysis. All of the T. gallinae-positive samples detected by microscopic examination were also detected as positive by the PCR assay. Most of the samples identified as negative by microscopic examination were detected as T. gallinae positive by the PCR assay and were confirmed by sequencing. The positive samples of T. gallinae collected from Guangzhou, China, were identified as T. gallinae genotype B by sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, providing relevant data for studying the ecology and population genetic structures of trichomonads and for the prevention and control of the diseases they cause.

Histopathology of Esophagus and crop of Pigeon (Columbia livia) infected by Trichomonas gallinae

“…Positive samples of T. gallinae collected will provide relevant data for studying the ecology and genetic structure of the population of Trichomonas gallinae and for disease prevention and control. 15 The degree of change and virulence of pathological strains was low to high heterogeneity of T. gallinae causes trichomoniasis. 16 Infiltration of the trachea and lungs is associated with a severe inflammatory response to the surrounding tissue.…”

Parasitic Diseases of Fancy Birds

“…Molecular techniques have been performed to detect the presence and characterize the disease-causing parasites in birds. Trichomonas gallinae identification has been performed by Qiu et al (2017) through PCR assay. Pair of primers was developed i.…”

“…TgF2/TgR2 based on the nuclear ribosomal DNA and characterized through phylogenetic analysis (Qiu et al 2017). Madani and Peighambari (2013) used nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze the samples from fancy pigeons.…”

Prevalence of Trichomonas gallinae infection in Pigeon of Jessore District, Bangladesh

“…Pigeons and doves of the family Columbidae are the most common hosts of the flagellate protozoan T. gallinae, with prevalence up to 100% [5]. The protozoan has been reported in a number of other avian orders worldwide [6,7] such as turkey, chicken, eagles, falcons, and bustards may also be infected [3] In fact, Avian Trichomonasis caused by T. gallinae is a disease of young [3] pigeons, which may result in a high mortality in young pigeons [3,8] within 10 days. A high latent infection rate (up to 90%) has also been reported in [9].…”