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Molecular characterization of Trichomonas gypaetinii isolated from the upper alimentary tract of Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Hokkaido, Japan

  • Protozoology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Recent phylogenetic and morphologic studies of Trichomonas spp. suggests that there are more than 3 species that infect the upper alimentary tract of wild birds, which include T. gallinae, T. stableri, and T. gypaetinii. In this study, investigations were conducted on the prevalence of trichomonads in the upper alimentary tract of 12 Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and 18 white-tailed sea eagles (H. albicilla). All birds were rescued from the wild and kept at a rehabilitation facility in Hokkaido, Japan, for variable durations and did not show any symptoms of trichomonosis. The ITS1-5.8SrRNA-ITS2 (ITS) genomic region of Trichomonas spp. was detected from 29 samples by PCR, and flagellates were confirmed from 4 samples by culture. Morphologic observations and measurement recordings were conducted under a light microscope on trophozoites obtained from the cultured isolates. Genomic sequences of the ITS, 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA), Fe-hydrogenase, and RNA polymerase II largest subunit (Rpb1) regions were determined by direct sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were conducted with previously published sequences of Trichomonas spp. All isolates were concluded as T. gypaetinii based on morphologic and molecular characterizations of the ITS and 18S rRNA genes. This is the first study to isolate T. gypaetinii from Haliaeetus eagles and further provide novel sequences of the Fe-hydrogenase and Rpb1 genes of T. gypaetinii. Both genomic regions also confirmed that T. gypaetinii belong to independent clusters from other Trichomonas spp.

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Acknowledgements

Funding from the 2015 Akiyama Life Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. All samples were provided from the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, Kushiro Nature Conservation Office. We would like to thank all the staff at the Institute for Raptor Biomedicine Japan Co. Ltd. for supporting the sampling of birds, which were humanely handled.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obihiro Zoo, Midorigaoka, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-0846, Japan

    Sohei Tomikawa

  2. Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan

    Shotaro Nakagun & Yoshiyasu Kobayashi

  3. Institute for Raptor Biomedicine Japan, Hokuto, Kushiro, Hokkaido, 084-0922, Japan

    Yukiko Watanabe & Keisuke Saito

Authors
  1. Sohei Tomikawa
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  2. Shotaro Nakagun
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  3. Yukiko Watanabe
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  4. Keisuke Saito
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  5. Yoshiyasu Kobayashi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sohei Tomikawa.

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All procedures performed in studies involving animal were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution at which the studies were conduct.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Tomikawa, S., Nakagun, S., Watanabe, Y. et al. Molecular characterization of Trichomonas gypaetinii isolated from the upper alimentary tract of Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Hokkaido, Japan. Parasitol Res 120, 2189–2198 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07160-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07160-5

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