University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Straße 34, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany.
State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany.
Malar J. 2017 Sep 12;16(1):369. doi: 10.1186/s12936-017-2023-5.
Avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) and other Haemosporida (Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon spp.) form a diverse group of vector-transmitted blood parasites that are abundant in many bird families. Recent studies have suggested that corvids may be an important host for Plasmodium spp. and Leucocytozoon spp.
To investigate the diversity of Haemosporida of resident carrion crows (Corvus corone) and Eurasian Magpies (Pica pica) in southwest Germany, 100 liver samples of corvids were examined using a nested PCR method to amplify a 1063 bp fragment of the haemosporidian mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The phylogenetic relationship of parasite lineages obtained from these birds was inferred.
Haemosporidian DNA was detected in 85 carrion crows (89.5%) and in all five Eurasian Magpies. The most abundant parasite genus was Leucocytozoon with a prevalence of 85.3% (n = 95). 65.3% of the samples (n = 62) contained multiple infections. Thirteen haemosporidian lineages were isolated from the corvid samples. Female carrion crows were more likely infected with haemosporidian parasites than males.
This study provides the first insight into the diversity of haemosporidian parasites of corvids in Germany. Very high prevalences were found and based on the applied diagnostic method also a high amount of multiple infections could be detected. Due to the high diversity of haemosporidian parasites found in corvids, they seem to be excellent model organisms to test species deliminations in haemosporidian parasites.
禽疟原虫（Plasmodium spp.）和其他血孢子虫（Haemoproteus 和 Leucocytozoon spp.）形成了一组多样化的媒介传播血液寄生虫，在许多鸟类科中都很丰富。最近的研究表明，鸦科可能是疟原虫和 Leucocytozoon spp. 的重要宿主。
为了调查德国西南部留鸟（Corvus corone）和欧亚喜鹊（Pica pica）中血孢子虫的多样性，使用巢式 PCR 方法检查了 100 个鸦科动物的肝脏样本，以扩增血孢子虫线粒体细胞色素 b 基因的 1063 bp 片段。推断了从这些鸟类中获得的寄生虫谱系的系统发育关系。
在 85 只乌鸦（89.5%）和所有 5 只欧亚喜鹊中都检测到了血孢子虫 DNA。最丰富的寄生虫属是 Leucocytozoon，其流行率为 85.3%（n=95）。65.3%的样本（n=62）含有多重感染。从鸦科样本中分离出 13 种血孢子虫谱系。雌性乌鸦比雄性更有可能感染血孢子虫寄生虫。
本研究首次提供了德国鸦科血孢子虫寄生虫多样性的见解。发现了非常高的流行率，并且根据应用的诊断方法，还可以检测到大量的多重感染。由于在鸦科中发现的血孢子虫寄生虫具有很高的多样性，它们似乎是测试血孢子虫寄生虫物种界限的理想模型生物。
