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Gondard M, Lane M, Barratt J, Talundzic E, Qvarnstrom Y. Simultaneous targeted amplicon deep sequencing and library preparation for a time and cost-effective universal parasite diagnostic sequencing approach. Parasitol Res 2023; 122:3243-3256. [PMID: 37940706 PMCID: PMC10772880 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-07991-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
We recently described a targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS) strategy that utilizes a nested PCR targeting the 18S rDNA gene of blood-borne parasites. The assay facilitates selective digestion of host DNA by targeting enzyme restriction sites present in vertebrates but absent in parasites. This enriching of parasite-derived amplicon drastically reduces the proportion of host-derived reads during sequencing and results in the sensitive detection of several clinically important blood parasites including Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp., kinetoplastids, and filarial nematodes. Despite these promising results, high costs and the laborious nature of metagenomics sequencing are prohibitive to the routine use of this assay in most laboratories. We describe and evaluate a new metagenomic approach that utilizes a set of primers modified from our original assay that incorporates Illumina barcodes and adapters during the PCR steps. This modification makes amplicons immediately compatible with sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform, removing the need for a separate library preparation, which is expensive and time-consuming. We compared this modified assay to our previous nested TADS assay in terms of preparation speed, limit of detection (LOD), and cost. Our modifications reduced assay turnaround times from 7 to 5 days. The cost decreased from approximately $40 per sample to $11 per sample. The modified assay displayed comparable performance in the detection and differentiation of human-infecting Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp., kinetoplastids, and filarial nematodes in clinical samples. The LOD of this modified approach was determined for malaria parasites and remained similar to that previously reported for our earlier assay (0.58 Plasmodium falciparum parasites/µL of blood). These modifications markedly reduced costs and turnaround times, making the assay more amenable to routine diagnostic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Gondard
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Meredith Lane
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Synergy America Inc., Duluth, GA, USA
| | - Joel Barratt
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Eldin Talundzic
- Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yvonne Qvarnstrom
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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2
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Musa S, Mackenstedt U, Woog F, Dinkel A. Untangling the actual infection status: detection of avian haemosporidian parasites of three Malagasy bird species using microscopy, multiplex PCR, and nested PCR methods. Parasitol Res 2022. [PMID: 35939148 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07606-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The development of new molecular methods has significantly improved the detection and identification of avian haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) compared to microscopic examination. Very large numbers of previously hidden Haemosporida species of a wide range of avian hosts have thus been discovered in the last two decades. However, test parameters of the various detection methods remain largely unevaluated. In this study, the merits of microscopy, multiplex PCR, and nested PCR were compared to identify the infection status of three Malagasy bird species. A total of 414 blood samples of Hypsipetes madagascariensis, Foudia omissa and F. madagascariensis, as well as 147 blood smears, were examined for haemosporidian infection. Thirty-four lineages of haemosporidian parasites could be identified, of which six have been detected for the first time. Microscopy, multiplex and nested PCR showed differences in detection rate, most likely due to low parasitemia of chronically infected birds. The combination of both PCR methods yielded the best results. In particular, detection of multiple infections could be greatly improved and will enable more precise prevalence estimates of individual haemosporidian species in wild birds in the future.
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Ciloglu A, Yildirim A, Pekmezci D, Yetismis G, Sursal Simsek N, Simsek E, Duzlu O, Onder Z, Delibasi Kokcu N, Pekmezci GZ, Ellis VA, Inci A. A novel one-step multiplex PCR protocol to detect avian haemosporidian parasites in the subgenus Haemoproteus (Kruse, 1890) used to quantify parasite prevalence in domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Turkey. Vet Res Commun 2022. [PMID: 35739341 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-022-09962-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Infections of avian haemosporidian parasites are regularly identified by molecular methods including multiplex PCR, which allows researchers to distinguish mixed infections of parasites from multiple genera. Here we extend the utility of a previously designed multiplex PCR by designing a primer set specific to parasites of the subgenus Haemoproteus (genus: Haemoproteus). The updated one-step multiplex PCR protocol we describe here allows for the detection of the genera Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon and the two subgenera (Haemoproteus and Parahaemoproteus) of the genus Haemoproteus. A sensitivity analysis showed that the multiplex PCR could amplify DNA of parasites in the subgenus Haemoproteus at very low levels of infection. We used this multiplex PCR to identify haemosporidian infections in 250 adult domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Turkey. All samples were also screened by microscopy and a widely used nested PCR to compare with the results of multiplex PCR, to detect low levels of parasitemia, and to identify possible abortive infections. In total, 71 pigeons (28.4%) were found to be infected by all three methods. The multiplex PCR protocol successfully detected and discriminated both subgenera Haemoproteus and Parahaemoproteus infections. We compared our results with previous host species records to assess the host specificity of the parasite lineages we found. Our findings provide novel data on the prevalence of avian haemosporidians in domestic pigeons and demonstrate the utility of the new one-step multiplex PCR protocol for the determination of mixed avian haemosporidian infections. We expect that this protocol will contribute to a better understanding of the distribution, epizootiology, and ecology of avian haemosporidians.
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Stevens L, Lima-Cordón RA, Helms Cahan S, Dorn PL, Monroy MC, Axen HJ, Nguyen A, Hernáiz-Hernánde Y, Rodas A, Justi SA. Catch me if you can: Under-detection of Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastea: Trypanosomatida) infections in Triatoma dimidiata s.l. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from Central America. Acta Trop 2021; 224:106130. [PMID: 34536368 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Assays for parasite detection in insect vectors provide important information for disease control. American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) is the most devastating vector-borne illness and the fourth most common in Central America behind HIV/AIDS and acute respiratory and diarrheal infections (Peterson et al., 2019). Under-detection of parasites is a general problem which may be influenced by parasite genetic variation; however, little is known about the genetic variation of the Chagas parasite, especially in this region. In this study we compared six assays for detecting the Chagas parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi: genomic reduced representation sequencing (here referred to as genotype-by-sequencing or GBS), two with conventional PCR (i.e., agarose gel detection), two with qPCR, and microscopy. Our results show that, compared to GBS genomic analysis, microscopy and PCR under-detected T. cruzi in vectors from Central America. Of 94 samples, 44% (50/94) were positive based on genomic analysis. The lowest detection, 9% (3/32) was in a subset assayed with microscopy. Four PCR assays, two with conventional PCR and two with qPCR showed intermediate levels of detection. Both qPCR tests and one conventional PCR test targeted the 195 bp repeat of satellite DNA while the fourth test targeted the 18S gene. Statistical analyses of the genomic and PCR results indicate that the PCR assays significantly under detect infections of Central American T. cruzi genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lori Stevens
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA.
| | | | - Sara Helms Cahan
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA
| | - Patricia L Dorn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - M Carlota Monroy
- The Applied Entomology and Parasitology Laboratory, Biology School, Pharmacy Faculty, San Carlos University of Guatemala, Guatemala
| | - Heather J Axen
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA
| | - Andrew Nguyen
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA
| | | | - Antonieta Rodas
- The Applied Entomology and Parasitology Laboratory, Biology School, Pharmacy Faculty, San Carlos University of Guatemala, Guatemala
| | - Silvia A Justi
- The Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, MD, USA; Entomology Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
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Klapper R, Karl H, Ostermeyer U. Intrinsic properties of anisakid nematode larvae as a potential tool for the detection in fish products. Int J Food Microbiol 2021; 343:109094. [PMID: 33621832 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Anisakid nematode larvae (NL) in fish products comprise a risk to human health and, if visible, lead to the rejection of these products by consumers. Therefore, great efforts are being made for the identification of these anisakid larvae to estimate the potential consumer health risk as well as to develop effective detection methods in order to prevent the introduction of heavily infected fish products into the market. The tasks of national reference laboratories include the improvement of detection methods and to promote their further development. As a prerequisite for improved detection, it is important to understand the structural properties of anisakid NL and compounds produced during host-parasite interactions. This review provides an overview of the intrinsic properties of anisakid NL and reports the latest detection methods in published literature. First, in order to define the potentially interesting intrinsic properties of anisakid nematodes for their detection, anatomy and compounds involved in host-parasite interactions are summarised. These can be used for various detection approaches, such as in the medical field or for allergen detection in fish products. In addition, fluorescence characteristics and their use as both established and promising candidates for detection methods, especially in the field of optical sensing technologies, are presented. Finally, different detection and identification methods applied by the fish processing industries and by control laboratories are listed. The review intends to highlight trends and provide suggestions for the development of improved detection and identification methods of anisakid NL in fish products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina Klapper
- Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Department of Safety and Quality of Milk and Fish products, Palmaille 9, 22767 Hamburg, Germany; Present Address: Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, National Reference Centre for Authentic Food, Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Horst Karl
- Present Address: Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, National Reference Centre for Authentic Food, Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ute Ostermeyer
- Present Address: Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, National Reference Centre for Authentic Food, Hermann-Weigmann-Str. 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany
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Flaherty BR, Barratt J, Lane M, Talundzic E, Bradbury RS. Sensitive universal detection of blood parasites by selective pathogen-DNA enrichment and deep amplicon sequencing. Microbiome 2021; 9:1. [PMID: 33388088 PMCID: PMC7778815 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00939-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS) has enabled characterization of diverse bacterial communities, yet the application of TADS to communities of parasites has been relatively slow to advance. The greatest obstacle to this has been the genetic diversity of parasitic agents, which include helminths, protozoa, arthropods, and some acanthocephalans. Meanwhile, universal amplification of conserved loci from all parasites without amplifying host DNA has proven challenging. Pan-eukaryotic PCRs preferentially amplify the more abundant host DNA, obscuring parasite-derived reads following TADS. Flaherty et al. (2018) described a pan-parasitic TADS method involving amplification of eukaryotic 18S rDNA regions possessing restriction sites only in vertebrates. Using this method, host DNA in total DNA extracts could be selectively digested prior to PCR using restriction enzymes, thereby increasing the number of parasite-derived reads obtained following NGS. This approach showed promise though was only as sensitive as conventional PCR. RESULTS Here, we expand on this work by designing a second set of pan-eukaryotic primers flanking the priming sites already described, enabling nested PCR amplification of the established 18S rDNA target. This nested approach facilitated introduction of a second restriction digestion between the first and second PCR, reducing the proportional mass of amplifiable host-derived DNA while increasing the number of PCR amplification cycles. We applied this method to blood specimens containing Babesia, Plasmodium, various kinetoplastids, and filarial nematodes and confirmed its limit of detection (LOD) to be approximately 10-fold lower than previously described, falling within the range of most qPCR methods. CONCLUSIONS The assay detects and differentiates the major malaria parasites of humans, along with several other clinically important blood parasites. This represents an important step towards a TADS-based universal parasite diagnostic (UPDx) test with a sufficient LOD for routine applications. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briana R Flaherty
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Joel Barratt
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
| | - Meredith Lane
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Synergy America Inc., Duluth, GA, USA
| | - Eldin Talundzic
- Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Richard S Bradbury
- Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- School of Health and Life Sciences, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia.
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Wylezich C, Caccio SM, Walochnik J, Beer M, Höper D. Untargeted metagenomics shows a reliable performance for synchronous detection of parasites. Parasitol Res 2020; 119:2623-2629. [PMID: 32591865 PMCID: PMC7366571 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-020-06754-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Shotgun metagenomics with high-throughput sequencing (HTS) techniques is increasingly used for pathogen identification and characterization. While many studies apply targeted amplicon sequencing, here we used untargeted metagenomics to simultaneously identify protists and helminths in pre-diagnosed faecal and tissue samples. The approach starts from RNA and operates without an amplification step, therefore allowing the detection of all eukaryotes, including pathogens, since it circumvents the bias typically observed in amplicon-based HTS approaches. The generated metagenomics datasets were analysed using the RIEMS tool for initial taxonomic read assignment. Mapping analyses against ribosomal reference sequences were subsequently applied to extract 18S rRNA sequences abundantly present in the sequence datasets. The original diagnosis, which was based on microscopy and/or PCR, could be confirmed in nearly all cases using ribosomal RNA metagenomics. In addition to the pre-diagnosed taxa, we detected other intestinal eukaryotic parasites of uncertain pathogenicity (of the genera Dientamoeba, Entamoeba, Endolimax, Hymenolepis) that are often excluded from routine diagnostic protocols. The study clearly demonstrates the applicability of untargeted RNA metagenomics for the parallel detection of parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Wylezich
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
| | - Simone M Caccio
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Julia Walochnik
- Molecular Parasitology, Institute for Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Beer
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Dirk Höper
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
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Abstract
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasite. It is transmitted by female Anopheles bite. Thick and thin blood smears of the patient are manually examined by an expert pathologist with the help of a microscope to diagnose the disease. Such expert pathologists may not be available in many parts of the world due to poor health facilities. Moreover, manual inspection requires full concentration of the pathologist and it is a tedious and time consuming way to detect the malaria. Therefore, development of automated systems is momentous for a quick and reliable detection of malaria. It can reduce the false negative rate and it can help in detecting the disease at early stages where it can be cured effectively. In this paper, we present a computer aided design to automatically detect malarial parasite from microscopic blood images. The proposed method uses bilateral filtering to remove the noise and enhance the image quality. Adaptive thresholding and morphological image processing algorithms are used to detect the malaria parasites inside individual cell. To measure the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, we have tested our method on a NIH Malaria dataset and also compared the results with existing similar methods. Our method achieved the detection accuracy of more than 91% outperforming the competing methods. The results show that the proposed algorithm is reliable and can be of great assistance to the pathologists and hematologists for accurate malaria parasite detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tehreem Fatima
- Punjab University College of Information Technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Shahid Farid
- Punjab University College of Information Technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
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Wylezich C, Belka A, Hanke D, Beer M, Blome S, Höper D. Metagenomics for broad and improved parasite detection: a proof-of-concept study using swine faecal samples. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:769-777. [PMID: 31361998 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Efficient and reliable identification of emerging pathogens is crucial for the design and implementation of timely and proportionate control strategies. This is difficult if the pathogen is so far unknown or only distantly related with known pathogens. Diagnostic metagenomics - an undirected, broad and sensitive method for the efficient identification of pathogens - was frequently used for virus and bacteria detection, but seldom applied to parasite identification. Here, metagenomics datasets prepared from swine faeces using an unbiased sample processing approach with RNA serving as starting material were re-analysed with respect to parasite detection. The taxonomic identification tool RIEMS, used for initial detection, provided basic hints on potential pathogens contained in the datasets. The suspected parasites/intestinal protists (Blastocystis, Entamoeba, Iodamoeba, Neobalantidium, Tetratrichomonas) were verified using subsequently applied reference mapping analyses on the base of rRNA sequences. Nearly full-length gene sequences could be extracted from the RNA-derived datasets. In the case of Blastocystis, subtyping was possible with subtype (ST)15 discovered for the first known time in swine faeces. Using RIEMS, some of the suspected candidates turned out to be false-positives caused by the poor status of sequences in publicly available databases. Altogether, 11 different species/STs of parasites/intestinal protists were detected in 34 out of 41 datasets extracted from metagenomics data. The approach operates without any primer bias that typically hampers the analysis of amplicon-based approaches, and allows the detection and taxonomic classification including subtyping of protist and metazoan endobionts (parasites, commensals or mutualists) based on an abundant biomarker, the 18S rRNA. The generic nature of the approach also allows evaluation of interdependencies that induce mutualistic or pathogenic effects that are often not clear for many intestinal protists and perhaps other parasites. Thus, metagenomics has the potential for generic pathogen identification beyond the characterisation of viruses and bacteria when starting from RNA instead of DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Wylezich
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
| | - Ariane Belka
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Dennis Hanke
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Martin Beer
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Sandra Blome
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Dirk Höper
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
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Ciloglu A, Ellis VA, Bernotienė R, Valkiūnas G, Bensch S. A new one-step multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection and identification of avian haemosporidian parasites. Parasitol Res 2018; 118:191-201. [PMID: 30536121 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-018-6153-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Accurate detection and identification are essential components for epidemiological, ecological, and evolutionary surveys of avian haemosporidian parasites. Microscopy has been used for more than 100 years to detect and identify these parasites; however, this technique requires considerable training and high-level expertise. Several PCR methods with highly sensitive and specific detection capabilities have now been developed in addition to microscopic examination. However, recent studies have shown that these molecular protocols are insufficient at detecting mixed infections of different haemosporidian parasite species and genetic lineages. In this study, we developed a simple, sensitive, and specific multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection and discrimination of parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon in single and mixed infections. Relative quantification of parasite DNA using qPCR showed that the multiplex PCR can amplify parasite DNA ranging in concentration over several orders of magnitude. The detection specificity and sensitivity of this new multiplex PCR assay were also tested in two different laboratories using previously screened natural single and mixed infections. These findings show that the multiplex PCR designed here is highly effective at identifying both single and mixed infections from all three genera of avian haemosporidian parasites. We predict that this one-step multiplex PCR assay, being convenient and inexpensive, will become a widely used method for molecular screening of avian haemosporidian parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arif Ciloglu
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey. .,Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden. .,Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases Implementation and Research Center, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey.
| | - Vincenzo A Ellis
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Rasa Bernotienė
- Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | | | - Staffan Bensch
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden
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