RT Journal Article
T1 Comparative performance of microscopy, nested PCR, and real-time PCR for screening avian haemosporidian parasites in Afrotropical starlings (family Sturnidae)
A1 Wardjomto, Maliki B.
A1 Ndlovu, Mduduzi
A1 Pérez-Rodríguez, Antón
A1 Pori, Tinotendashe
A1 Nangammbi, Tshifhiwa C.
AB Prevalence studies of avian haemosporidian parasites frequently use microscopy and the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols for detecting infections. Newer PCR protocols to detect parasites are being developed, with the distinct advantage of reducing screening cost and time, as well as increasing efficiency and sensitivity. The detection ability of microscopy and nested PCR was compared against a real-time PCR (qPCR) protocol using genomic DNA extracted from 240 bird blood samples collected from three starling species (Cape Starling, the Greater Blue-eared Starling, and the Wattled Starling; family Sturnidae) in the Kruger national park, South Africa. All three protocols successfully detected avian haemosporidian parasites with the qPCR having a considerable edge against the other two methods. Fifteen unique cytochrome b lineages were identified of which seven were new lineages. Microscopy and nested PCR recorded similar prevalence (32.92% and 35.42% respectively). The qPCR protocol used here, although more sensitive (52.92% prevalence), is not able to differentiate between parasite genera but provides the opportunity to screen a large number of samples in large-scale studies within a specific region. This study recommends the development and adoption of new molecular protocols with increased sensitivity and accuracy in prevalence studies. Nevertheless, microscopy remains essential for the morphological description of parasites and for distinguishing between abortive and successful chronic infections. The PCR-based method displays the detection of the parasitic genome but does not reveal whether parasites have or will develop into a successful infection.
PB Springer
SN 0932-0113
YR 2023
FD 2023-08-16
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123439
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123439
LA eng
NO Wardjomto, M. B., Ndlovu, M., Pérez-Rodríguez, A., Pori, T., & Nangammbi, T. C. (2023). Comparative performance of microscopy, nested PCR, and real-time PCR for screening avian haemosporidian parasites in Afrotropical starlings (family Sturnidae). Parasitology Research, 122(8), 2393-2404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-023-07941-0
NO Funding for this study came from the National Research Foundation, the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme, and the University of the Free State.Data availability Data for this study is freely available from the South African Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FBIP) repository and also deposited at the following link: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_01_12_2020_xlsx/13317293. Accession numbers of new parasite lineage identified are available in GenBank and MalAvi databases.Ethics approval The study was approved by the South African National Park (Research Permit No: NDLM1262) and the University of the Witwatersrand Animal Ethics Screening Committee (Clearance Certificate No: 2015/02/B). Other ethical clearances were obtained for the overarching project registered by M. Ndlovu at the University of the Free State (UFS-AED2017/0004) and a student-specific project delivered to M. B. Wardjomto (UFS-AED2018/0012). Permission to conduct research in terms of section 20 of the Animal Disease Act 1984 (Act No 35 Of 1984) was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa (Ref number 12/11/1/4). All bird capture and ringing were conducted in accordance with the SAFRING (South African Ringing Scheme) bird ringing manual under the supervision of M Ndlovu.Acknowledgements We are grateful to several students from the Organisation of Tropical Studies who assisted in bird captures in the field.
NO National Research Foundation (Sudáfrica)
NO Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (Sudáfrica)
NO University of the Free State (Sudáfrica)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 19 ene 2026