Pathological and genetical analyses of chicken Eimeria species during attenuations as a model of important protozoan parasites

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K08025
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Veterinary medical science
• Research Institution: Osaka Prefecture University
• Principal Investigator: Matsubayashi Makoto 大阪府立大学, 生命環境科学研究科, 准教授 (00321076)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: Eimeria / 原虫 / 弱毒化 / 比較ゲノム解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Chicken Eimeria spp. causing coccidiosis are attenuated by selective serial passages into chickens. However, the characteristics and molecular mechanisms of the attenuations remains unknown. The precocious strains showed rapid developments of the asexual stages and possessed smaller schizonts. By the comparative genomic analyses, some gene regions with nucleotide mutations were determined. These nucleotide mutations might be associated with attenuation of the eimerian parasites.

Free Research Field

原虫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

Eimeria 属原虫は、ヒトに対して重篤な症状を引き起こすマラリアやトキソプラズマ原虫と同じApicomplexa 門に属する。これまでに同門の原虫ワクチン開発において、弱毒株の原虫総体による免疫賦与を行うワクチン開発が次世代の抗原虫防除ツールとして模索されている。本成果により決定された遺伝子は、弱毒化重要遺伝子である可能性があり、他種原虫での応用解析が期待される。