Quantification of Eimeria necatrix , E. acervulina and E. maxima genomes in commercial chicken farms by quantitative real time PCR

AbstractAdvent of quantitative polymerase chain reaction and its variants have enabled identification and quantification of seven knownEimeria species of poultry in biological samples. Attempts were made in the present study to identify and quantify three important pathogenicEimeria species responsible for intestinal coccidiosis in domestic farmed chicken,E. necatrix, E. acervulina andE. maxima in droppings collected from thirty one poultry farms of North Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The study included broiler, layer and backyard rearing units. Overall occurrence ofE. necatrix,E. maxima andE. acervulina was 64.5%.E. necatrix was detected in 55% (11/20) broiler farms, 66.7% (4/6) layer farms and 100% (5/5) backyard rearing units studied. Thus, occurrence ofE. necatrix was detected in 64.5% (20/31) farms studied.E. maxima andE. acervulina were detected in droppings of 65% (13/20) broiler farms, 66.7% (4/6) layer farms and 60% (3/5) back yard rearing units. Genome counts of eachEimeria species revealed maximum parasite load ofE. necatrix followed byE. acervulina in broiler farms and least in layer farms. The mean parasite load (genome) copies for these parasite species were intermediate for backyard units whileE. maxima had the lowest number of genome copies in droppings. MeanE. maxima counts were highest in boiler farms, while it was similar for layer and back yard units. However, statistically no significant differences were observed for par...
Source: Journal of Parasitic Diseases - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research