Abstract Background: Coccidiosis in birds, including ostriches, is a major concern for animal health and productivity worldwide. There is limited data on Eimeria infections in farmed ostriches (Struthio camelus). Therefore, this research aims to investigate the species of Eimeria in ostriches using molecular methods. It is considered the first detailed molecular study of Eimeria species in Iraqi ostrich farms. Methods: A total of 150 ostrich feces samples from farms in three regions of Iraq using both microscopy and molecular methods. Statistical analysis of the positive samples was performed using the chi-square test, with the significance level set at a p-value < 0.05. Results: Initial testing showed a high prevalence rate of 51.33%. Five samples, out of a total of 77 suspected cases, underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for confirmation followed by sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Sequencing results revealed two species of Eimeria: E. praecox and E. tenella. Notably, this is the first report of E. tenella infection in Iraqi ostriches. Genetic analysis of their sequences was performed and deposited in GenBank under accessions NO PV078121.1 to PV078125.1). Conclusions: These results have important implications, including understanding the host specificity of Eimeria and the parasite's transmission between other hosts. They also contribute to identifying coccidiosis control strategies in Iraqi ostrich farms. Furthermore, our molecular findings provide a foundation for future comparative research on the epidemiology of Eimeria in birds.
Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite of medical and veterinary significance that causes gastroenteritis in a number of vertebrate hosts. Several studies have recorded different degrees of pathogenicity and virulence among Cryptosporidium species and isolates of the same species as well as evidence of variation in host susceptibility to infection. Nevertheless, important progress has been made in determining Cryptosporidium's putative virulence factors. Since the publication of C parvum and C. Hominis this development has been accelerated genomes, identified by a range of immunological and molecular techniques with the characterization of over 25 putative virulence factors, which are proposed to be involved in aspects of host-pat
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Twenty-two of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 were collected in Baghdad city during the period from January to September, 2014, and examined for endoparasites. Ten (45.45%) were found infected with either the cestode Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782) (31.81%) or the nematode Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) (13.63 %). Morphometric and meristic features for these worms were expressed. D. nasuta is recorded here for the first time from S. vulgaris for Iraq.
The monogeneans Gyrodactylus dzhalilovi Ergens & Ashurova, 1984, G. magnus Konovalov, 1967 and G. matovi Ergens & Kakachava-Avramova, 1966 were recorded in this study for the first time in Iraq from gills of the common carp Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 collected from Tigris River in Baghdad city. The description, measurements and illustrations of these parasites were given.
Nineteen thrips species recorded in center of Iraq during 1999-2001, four of them was recorded by El-Haidari & Daoud, 1967; Thrips tabaci Lindeman, Retithrips syriacus (Mayet), Parascolothrips prieseri Mound, Anaphthrips sudanensis Trybom. Fifteen species are recorded for the first time in Iraq, Thrips meridionalis (Priesner), Microcephalothrips abdominals (Crawford), Scolothrips pallidus (Beach), Scolothrips sexmaculatus (Pergande), Scritothrips mangiferae Priesner, Frankliniella schultzie Trybom, Frankliniella unicolor Morgan, Frankliniella Tritici Bagnall, Retithrips aegypticus Marchal, Retithrips javanicus
... Show MoreFour new species of Thrips (Thripidae) Chirothrips imperatus sp. nov.; Frankliniella megacephala sp. nov.; Retithrips bagdadensis sp. nov; Taeniothrips tigridis sp. Nov.; from middle of Iraq, are described and illustrated with their hosts.
Reishi Mushroom, Ganoderma, is considered one of important wood-decaying medicinal mushrooms. This study aimed to identify three samples of this genus in Mosul city in February and April 2019. Three species of Ganoderma were collected from three various trees including Eucalyptus, Morus, and Olea (olive) in Mosul City, Northern Iraq. Their identifications and their DNA sequences were genetically identified by using PCR techniques according to detect nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Results exhibited the finding of Ganoderma resinaceum, Ganoderma applanatum, and Ganoderma sp. This study is first attempt to identify Reishi Mushroom by molecular methods in Iraq. Thus, the current study is considered new good d
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The present study aims to give some details about the normal anatomical and histological structure of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder in Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 and Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi (Günther, 1874). Anatomical results revealed that the liver of C. carpio is a reddish-brown in color, located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and dispersed between most of the intestines, which is divided into two lobes; while in M. sharpeyi the liver is light brown in color located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and extends to the end of the intestinal tract with two lobs. The gallbladder situated in the right side of the liver in both species. Histological results in both species showed that the liver consists
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The results of the current study showed that the thyroid gland in an adult domestic cat (Felis catus) is located in the neck area on both sides of the trachea at rings 1–5. The gland consists of two lobes (right and left), and it is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue consisting of two outer and inner layers, and a layer of fatty tissue overlaps with the outer layer of the capsule. In addition, the results of this study found that the histological structure of the thyroid gland is composed of several follicles that appear in different sizes and shapes. The follicles are lined with simple cuboidal epithelial tissue and sometimes appear lined with high and low simple cuboidal epithelial tissue. The gland is histologically c
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The results of the current study showed that the thyroid gland in adult domestic cat (Felis catus) is located in the neck area on both sides of the trachea at rings (1-5). The gland consists of two lobes (right and left) and it is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue consisting of two outer and inner layers, and a layer of fatty tissue overlaps with the outer layer of the capsule. In addition, the results of this study found that the histological structure of the thyroid gland is composed of several follicles that appear in different sizes and shapes; the follicles are lined with simple cuboidal epithelial tissue and sometimes appear lined with high and low simple cuboidal epithelial tissue. The gland is histologically composed of t
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The esophageal morphology of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) was investigated to fillthe dearth of information on the morphology of esophagus from available literature and help inunderstanding its digestive tract biology. The esophagus is under study as musculomembranous tubularshape, it began from oropharyngeal cavity and terminated on the proventriculus. The esophagus wasdivided into three regions are represented by cervical part, crop, and Thoracic part. Internal lining of theesophagus consisted of un-branched straight longitudinal folds The length of the cervical part, crop andthoracic part were 11.5 cm, 3.5 cm, 6 cm respectively.