Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Ic2 Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF, UK.
North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo), Caughall Road, Chester, CH2 1LH, UK.
Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 4;13(1):16712. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-43932-y.
Blood parasite (haemosporidian) infections are conventionally detected using blood samples; this implies capturing and handling birds to obtain them, which induces stress and causes pain. Feathers have blood vessels, and some blood could be preserved in the feather's shaft after moulting. We used feather DNA for detecting haemosporidians by PCR testing in diverse scenarios. First, haemosporidian DNA was detected in feathers from carcasses of infected birds, proving the feasibility of the approach. Storage temperature affected DNA recovery, with maximum retrieval and haemosporidian detection at the lowest temperature (- 20 °C). All feather types from infected birds kept at optimal conditions yielded haemosporidian DNA. Parasite detection by PCR was correlated with DNA yield, which was significantly higher in heavier birds, flight feathers, and more feathers per pool. Lastly, haemosporidians were detected employing feathers moulted from wild and captive birds to estimate infection prevalence. We show for the first time that using blood from feather shafts for haemosporidian detection can be an advantageous and less invasive alternative to blood sampling if feathers are optimally preserved. This method could contribute to uncovering haemosporidian infections in endangered and elusive birds, and it might facilitate routine screening in captive birds, thereby improving infection detection, prevention, and control.
血液寄生虫（血孢子虫）感染通常使用血液样本进行检测；这意味着需要捕获和处理鸟类来获取样本，这会引起鸟类的应激反应并导致其疼痛。羽毛中有血管，一些血液在换羽后可能会保留在羽毛的羽轴中。我们使用羽毛 DNA 通过 PCR 测试在各种情况下检测血孢子虫。首先，从感染鸟类的尸体羽毛中检测到了血孢子虫 DNA，证明了这种方法的可行性。储存温度会影响 DNA 的回收，在最低温度（-20°C）下，DNA 的回收率和血孢子虫的检测率最高。在最佳条件下保存的所有感染鸟类的羽毛类型都产生了血孢子虫 DNA。PCR 检测到的寄生虫与 DNA 产量相关，体重较大的鸟类、飞羽和每批羽毛中的羽毛数量较多的鸟类的 DNA 产量明显更高。最后，我们使用从野生和圈养鸟类换羽的羽毛来检测血孢子虫，以估计感染的流行率。我们首次表明，如果羽毛得到最佳保存，从羽轴血液中检测血孢子虫可以作为一种有优势且侵入性较小的血液样本检测替代方法。这种方法有助于发现濒危和难以捉摸的鸟类中的血孢子虫感染，并且可以方便在圈养鸟类中进行常规筛查，从而提高感染检测、预防和控制的效果。
