<i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines
Parasitic protozoa such as <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> are common in avian hosts, particularly in passerines. Despite their high prevalence, the diversity of these parasites within avian populations remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the divers...
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| author | Ashwin Kumar Saravana Bhavan Venkatachalam Jana Brzoňová Milena Svobodová |
| author_facet | Ashwin Kumar Saravana Bhavan Venkatachalam Jana Brzoňová Milena Svobodová |
| author_sort | Ashwin Kumar Saravana Bhavan Venkatachalam |
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| description | Parasitic protozoa such as <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> are common in avian hosts, particularly in passerines. Despite their high prevalence, the diversity of these parasites within avian populations remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the diversity of <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> in passerine birds, using the SSU rRNA gene to characterize and compare the genetic variation in both parasites across multiple avian host species. For <i>Isospora</i>, the extraintestinal blood stages and oocysts from feces were compared. Minimum spanning networks were constructed to visualize haplogroups in relation to host specificity and to reveal the identity of various developmental stages. A total of 122 sequences from eight passerine species were used to generate a haplotype network for <i>Lankesterella</i>, and a total of 103 sequences (64 from blood and 39 from feces) was used for <i>Isospora</i>. We detected a total of 36 haplotypes for <i>Lankesterella</i> and 33 haplotypes for <i>Isospora</i>. In <i>Lankesterella</i>, we confirmed that the sedge warbler has its own specific lineages, whereas other warbler species share lineages belonging to three haplogroups; blue, great, marsh and willow tits have their own unique groups of lineages. <i>Isospora</i> is less host-specific than <i>Lankesterella</i> in avian hosts; nevertheless, <i>Isospora</i> sequences from blood and feces were identical in their respective hosts. Our findings provide insights into the diversity and host specificity of blood coccidians; moreover, we molecularly characterized the developmental stages of <i>Isospora</i>. |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-7d04498a85f64bf79a8882ff04f7714b2025-08-20T02:18:14ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-03-0113474310.3390/microorganisms13040743<i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in PasserinesAshwin Kumar Saravana Bhavan Venkatachalam0Jana Brzoňová1Milena Svobodová2Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech RepublicParasitic protozoa such as <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> are common in avian hosts, particularly in passerines. Despite their high prevalence, the diversity of these parasites within avian populations remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the diversity of <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> in passerine birds, using the SSU rRNA gene to characterize and compare the genetic variation in both parasites across multiple avian host species. For <i>Isospora</i>, the extraintestinal blood stages and oocysts from feces were compared. Minimum spanning networks were constructed to visualize haplogroups in relation to host specificity and to reveal the identity of various developmental stages. A total of 122 sequences from eight passerine species were used to generate a haplotype network for <i>Lankesterella</i>, and a total of 103 sequences (64 from blood and 39 from feces) was used for <i>Isospora</i>. We detected a total of 36 haplotypes for <i>Lankesterella</i> and 33 haplotypes for <i>Isospora</i>. In <i>Lankesterella</i>, we confirmed that the sedge warbler has its own specific lineages, whereas other warbler species share lineages belonging to three haplogroups; blue, great, marsh and willow tits have their own unique groups of lineages. <i>Isospora</i> is less host-specific than <i>Lankesterella</i> in avian hosts; nevertheless, <i>Isospora</i> sequences from blood and feces were identical in their respective hosts. Our findings provide insights into the diversity and host specificity of blood coccidians; moreover, we molecularly characterized the developmental stages of <i>Isospora</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/4/743avian blood parasitescoccidiaEimeriidaepasserineshost–parasite interactionshost specificity |
| spellingShingle | Ashwin Kumar Saravana Bhavan Venkatachalam Jana Brzoňová Milena Svobodová <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines Microorganisms avian blood parasites coccidia Eimeriidae passerines host–parasite interactions host specificity |
| title | <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines |
| title_full | <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines |
| title_fullStr | <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines |
| title_short | <i>Lankesterella</i> and <i>Isospora</i> Coccidians: Differences in Host Specificity of Blood Parasites in Passerines |
| title_sort | i lankesterella i and i isospora i coccidians differences in host specificity of blood parasites in passerines |
| topic | avian blood parasites coccidia Eimeriidae passerines host–parasite interactions host specificity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/4/743 |
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