Abstract
Cryptosporidium spp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. are the most common protistan parasites of vertebrates. The results show that pigeon populations in Central Europe are parasitised by different species of Cryptosporidium and genotypes of microsporidia of the genera Enterocytozoon and Encephalitozoon. A total of 634 and 306 faecal samples of captive and feral pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica) from 44 locations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland were analysed for the presence of parasites by microscopy and PCR/sequence analysis of small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rDNA), 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of SSU rDNA. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of C. meleagridis, C. baileyi, C. parvum, C. andersoni, C. muris, C. galli and C. ornithophilus, E. hellem genotype 1A and 2B, E. cuniculi genotype I and II and E. bieneusi genotype Peru 6, CHN-F1, D, Peru 8, Type IV, ZY37, E, CHN4, SCF2 and WR4. Captive pigeons were significantly more frequently parasitised with screened parasite than feral pigeons. Cryptosporidium meleagridis IIIa and a new subtype IIIl have been described, the oocysts of which are not infectious to immunodeficient mice, whereas chickens are susceptible. This investigation demonstrates that pigeons can be hosts to numerous species, genotypes and subtypes of the studied parasites. Consequently, they represent a potential source of infection for both livestock and humans.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the BC CAS core facility LEM supported by the Czech-BioImaging large RI project (LM2023050) for their help with obtaining scientific data presented in this paper.
Funding
This study was funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR 21-23773S), Grant Agency of University of South Bohemia (007/2021/Z), and we thank the owners for their assistance in sample collection during this study.
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N.H.: writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, conceptualisation, project administration, resources, funding acquisition. V.Z.: writing—original draft, methodology, project administration, conceptualisation. MA.KI.: formal analysis, resources. Z.Z.: resources, methodology. MA.RA.: resources, methodology. R.K.: visualisation, methodology. MI.RO.: data curation, software. K.M.: resources, methodology. B.S.: validation, writing—review and editing. MA.KV.: supervision, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. N.H. and V.Z. contributed equally to this work. All authors analysed and discussed the data, drafted the manuscript and approved its final version.
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All experimental procedures complied with the laws of the Czech Republic (Act No. 246/1992 Coll., on the protection of animals against cruelty). The study design was approved by the ethical committees at the Biology Centre of CAS, the State Veterinary Administration, and the Central Commission for Animal Welfare under protocol nos. 35/2018 and MZP/2019/630/1411.
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Holubová, N., Zikmundová, V., Kicia, M. et al. Genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium spp., Encephalitozoon spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in feral and captive pigeons in Central Europe. Parasitol Res 123, 158 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08169-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08169-2