First Report of Avian Haemosporidians Infection and Associated Risk Factors in Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus) in China

Abstract Background Avian haemosporidians are critical hematocytozoon that infect both poultry and wild birds, responsible for anemia, acute tissue degeneration, and depopulation in wild birds. Poultry and wild birds have been reported as common reservoirs of hematocytozoon, but limited information was available for red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) in China. The present study firstly investigated the prevalence and molecular characterization of haemosporidians in red jungle fowls. Methods Blood samples were collected from 234 red jungle fowls from Jinghong City of Yunnan province, and then the samples were stained and observed by using microscopy. The genomic DNA samples were extracted from these samples. The prevalence of avian haemosporidians was determined by the nested PCR targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene and staining morphology observation. Associated risk factors were analyzed by chi-square (χ2) test. Molecular characterization was investigated based on phylogenetic analysis of cytb sequence. Results Overall prevalence of avian haemosporidium was 74.8% (175/234), with Haemoproteus enucleator, Leucocytozoon californicus, Plasmodium juxtanucleare, and the prevalence of haemosporidians in adult fowls (81.1%, 107/132) was significantly higher (P = 0.012 < 0.05, df = 1, χ2 = 6.32) than juvenile gulls (66.7%, 68/102). Three representative novel lineages were revealed. Conclusions This study combined morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses to identify avian haemosporidium in red jungle fowls, providing new information on the morphology, molecular epidemiology and geographical distribution of haemosporidian parasites. Our results suggested high prevalence and diverse genetic variations in these haemosporidians in fowls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first records of haemosporidians infection in red jungle fowls in China.