Open AccessIdentification of Theileria spp. in sheep and goats from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using molecular techniques
Author(s) -
Dina M. Metwally,
Reem A. Alajmi,
Muslimah N. Alsulami,
Isra Al-Turaiki,
Rewaida AbdelGaber,
Afrah Fahad Alkhuriji,
Haleema H. Albohiri,
Khalil Mohamed,
Hanadi B. Baghdadi,
Manal F. ElKhadragy,
Guillermo Téllez Isaías,
Saeed ElAshram
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.12596
Subject(s) - theileria , veterinary medicine , ovis , biology , 18s ribosomal rna , polymerase chain reaction , phylogenetic tree , babesia , parasite hosting , gene , virology , genetics , medicine , world wide web , computer science
Background Thileriosis is a tick -born disease caused by hemoprotozoan parasites which has global veterinary and economic implications. Methods Blood samples were collected from 216 sheep and 83 goats from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were analyzed to determine whether the animals were infected with Theileria spp. parasites. The parasites were detected using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the gene of 18S rRNA followed by sequencing. Results According to obtained findings, Theileria spp. were detected in sheep (57.8%, 48/83) and goats (51.9%, 112/216). Phylogenetic analysis to sequence data showed that T. ovis identified in this study were found to be closely connected to an isolate from Turkey, with 84.4–99.8% pairwise identity and 52.35–99.79% coverage.