title: Multi-strain infections and 'relapse' of Leucocytozoon sabrazesi gametocytes in domestic chickens in southern China.
abstract: Leucocytozoon parasites infect many species of avian hosts, including domestic chicken, and can inflict heavy economic loss to the poultry industry. Although the prevalence and distribution of two Leucocytozoon species (L. sabrazesi and L. caulleryi) have been reported in China previously, there are many questions related to the parasite infection that remain unanswered, including population diversity and transmission dynamics in domestic chickens. Here we surveyed chicken blood samples from seven sites in four provinces of China to identify Leucocytozoon infection, characterized parasite diversity within individual infected hosts and between sampling sites, and investigated the dynamics of gametocytemia in chickens over time. We found high infection rates in three of the seven sites. Clustering parasite sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase III (coxIII) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes showed lack of grouping according to geographic origins and individual hosts carrying large numbers of L. sabrazesi strains. Monitoring gametocytemia in blood samples from infected chickens over time showed 'relapse' or persistence of low-level gametocytemia for 4-5 months, which could be explored as an in vivo model for testing drugs against liver stages of Apicomplexan parasites. This study provides important information on population diversity and transmission dynamics of L. sabrazesi and for disease control.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Baowei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China; Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yanwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shengfa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lingxian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chunhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenfeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, the People's Republic of China; Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xin-zhuan
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000469:parasitology*; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D005843:Geography; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D018512:Parasitemia; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
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