Management of avian malaria in populations of high conservation concern

Paez, Andrea Miranda; Chalkowski, Kayleigh; Zohdy, Sarah; Willoughby, Janna R.

doi:10.1186/s13071-022-05327-2

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 39 publications

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“…In poultry, haemosporidiosis can lead to clinical manifestations such as multiple organ injury, anemia, and weight loss, which seriously affects the economic benefits of poultry breeding [ 9 , 10 ]. Failure to provide timely preventive treatment will lead to higher rates of infection and mortality [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of haemosporidia and associated risk factors in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) in China

et al. 2022

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Background Avian haemosporidia infect both domestic and wild birds, causing anemia, acute tissue degeneration, and depopulation in wild birds. Poultry and wild birds have been reported as common reservoirs of haemosporidia, but limited information is available for red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) in China. The present study investigated the prevalence and molecular characterization of haemosporidia in red junglefowl. Methods Blood samples were collected from 234 red junglefowl from Jinghong City of Yunnan Province, and genomic DNA was extracted from these samples. The prevalence of haemosporidia was determined by nested PCR targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene. Molecular characterization was investigated based on phylogenetic analysis of cytb sequences, and associated risk factors were analyzed using the Chi-square (χ2) test. Results The overall prevalence of haemosporidia was 74.8% (175/234), and three species were identified, namely Haemoproteus enucleator, Leucocytozoon californicus, and Plasmodium juxtanucleare. The prevalence of haemosporidia in adult fowl (81.1%, 107/132) was significantly higher (χ2 = 6.32, df = 1, P = 0.012) than that in juveniles (66.7%, 68/102). Three novel haemosporidian lineages were revealed. Conclusions This study examined the prevalence and identified species of avian haemosporidians in red junglefowl, providing new information on the molecular epidemiology and geographical distribution of haemosporidian parasites. Our results indicated high prevalence and diverse species distribution of these haemosporidians in red junglefowl. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of haemosporidian infection in red junglefowl in China. Graphical Abstract

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of haemosporidia and associated risk factors in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) in China

et al. 2022

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Global prevalence of Plasmodium infection in wild birds: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yan,

Sun,

Zhao

et al. 2024

Research in Veterinary Science

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Galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose‐presenting bacterial families are associated with resistance to experimental avian malaria infection

Noble,

Kelly,

R. Lattin

2024

Journal of Avian Biology

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The gut microbiome can contribute to host health through defense against pathogens. However, links between the host gut microbiome and resistance to infection have been primarily investigated in humans and lab‐bred rodents, so we do not know to what extent this relationship exists in wild animals. To fill this knowledge gap, we used an experimental malaria inoculation with Plasmodium relictum in wild‐caught house sparrows Passer domesticus (n = 18) to examine interactions of the host gut microbiome and resistance to avian malaria infection. Before and after inoculation, we collected blood samples to quantify circulating parasitemia and fecal samples to evaluate the gut microbiome through amplification and sequencing of the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. We found that gut microbiome alpha diversity (species richness and evenness) and beta diversity (community composition) were not significantly different between infected and resistant sparrows prior to or during malaria infection. However, we identified several indicator ASVs that occurred at higher prevalence and proportional abundance in malaria‐resistant sparrows, most of which were from the family Lactobacillaceae that is hypothesized to confer resistance to malaria through inducing the production of anti‐α‐Gal antibodies. Future studies should experimentally manipulate the composition of the avian gut microbiome to causally investigate the relationship between specific bacterial taxa in the host gut microbiome and resistance to avian malaria infection.

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Management of avian malaria in populations of high conservation concern

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

First report of haemosporidia and associated risk factors in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) in China

First report of haemosporidia and associated risk factors in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) in China

Global prevalence of Plasmodium infection in wild birds: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose‐presenting bacterial families are associated with resistance to experimental avian malaria infection

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