Al-Shaebi Esam M, Al Quraishy Saleh, Omer Sawsan A, Abdel-Gaber Rewaida, Mohammed Osama B
Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Front Vet Sci. 2024 Oct 29;11:1464138. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1464138. eCollection 2024.
Coccidiosis is a serious parasitic disease in camels caused by an intestinal protozoan parasite of the genus , which is linked to significant causes of reduced milk and meat production. In Saudi Arabia, scare literature focused on the coprological investigation of dromedary camels (). To determine the taxonomic status of camel parasite species, we performed morphological characterization of oocysts and genetic analysis ( and gene regions) of species collected from camels in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A total of 150 faecal samples were obtained from camels at the old camel market. These samples were tested for the presence of oocysts using the conventional floatation technique before being sporulated in a 2.5% potassium dichromate solution. oocysts were morphologically and molecularly examined and identified, and the infection rate of parasitic infections was determined.
Our findings revealed that the overall frequency of oocysts was 30%. The identified species was , which had a typical ellipsoidal oocyst shape. Oocystic polar granule, micropyle, micropylar cap, and oocyst residuum are not visible. Sporocysts are oval with stieda body. Sporocyst residuum contains many granules and sporozoites with refractile bodies and nuclei. Genetic analyses of the sequence data from the partial and gene regions revealed that the sequences obtained from . oocysts are related to DNA sequences reported from from the Alpaca from China, particularly the sequences.
This study emphasized the need to use molecular phylogenetic tools to describe camel intestinal coccidian parasites with traditional morphology-based approaches to better understand their biology. For camel husbandry and disease control, more studies should be conducted to better understand the epidemiology of these protozoan parasites.
球虫病是骆驼中一种严重的寄生虫病，由艾美耳属的肠道原生动物寄生虫引起，与牛奶和肉类产量下降的重要原因有关。在沙特阿拉伯，关于单峰骆驼粪便学调查的文献很少。为了确定骆驼寄生虫物种的分类地位，我们对从沙特阿拉伯利雅得骆驼身上采集的艾美耳属物种的卵囊进行了形态学特征分析，并对其基因（18S和ITS1基因区域）进行了分析。
从老骆驼市场的骆驼身上共采集了150份粪便样本。在将这些样本置于2.5%重铬酸钾溶液中进行孢子化处理之前，使用传统漂浮技术检测其中艾美耳属卵囊的存在情况。对艾美耳属卵囊进行形态学和分子学检查与鉴定，并确定寄生虫感染的感染率。
我们的研究结果显示，卵囊的总体检出率为30%。鉴定出的物种为骆驼艾美耳球虫，其卵囊呈典型的椭圆形。卵囊的极粒、微孔、微孔盖和卵囊残体均不可见。孢子囊呈椭圆形，有斯氏体。孢子囊残体含有许多颗粒以及带有折光体和细胞核的子孢子。对部分18S和ITS1基因区域的序列数据进行的遗传分析表明，从骆驼艾美耳球虫卵囊中获得的序列与中国羊驼源骆驼艾美耳球虫报道的DNA序列相关，尤其是ITS1序列。
本研究强调了需要使用分子系统发育工具，结合基于传统形态学的方法来描述骆驼肠道球虫寄生虫，以便更好地了解它们的生物学特性。对于骆驼养殖和疾病控制，应开展更多研究以更好地了解这些原生动物寄生虫的流行病学情况。
