Abstract
The application of high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis in the differentiation between Theileria equi and Babesia caballi was evaluated using control samples from the United States Department of Agriculture and field samples collected from horses in Sudan and China. A region of the 18S rRNA gene, with four known nucleotide differences between the two parasites, was selected for primer design. HRM analysis successfully allowed the detection and differentiation of T. equi and B. caballi without the necessity of performing time-consuming and expensive post-PCR procedures such as sequencing or restriction digestion. Our results suggest that HRM could be an ideal method for rapid genotyping, which is required to determine a drug of choice or to administer an appropriate vaccine during an outbreak.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for JSPS fellows and for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT); the program of the Funding Research Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease, MEXT; and Asia-Africa S & T Strategic Cooperation Promotion Program by the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science & Technology, MEXT. We would like to thank Mr. Ryo Nakao for his assistance.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Salim, B., Bakheit, M.A. & Sugimoto, C. Rapid detection and identification of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi by high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis. Parasitol Res 112, 3883–3886 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3581-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3581-2