Ancient diversity and geographical sub-structuring in African buffalo Theileria parva populations revealed through metagenetic analysis of antigen-encoding loci.

ABSTRACT: An infection and treatment protocol involving infection with a mixture of three parasite isolates and simultaneous treatment with oxytetracycline is currently used to vaccinate cattle against Theileria parva. While vaccination results in high levels of protection in some regions, little or no protection is observed in areas where animals are challenged predominantly by parasites of buffalo origin. A previous study involving sequencing of two antigen-encoding genes from a series of parasite isolates indicated that this is associated with greater antigenic diversity in buffalo-derived T. parva. The current study set out to extend these analyses by applying high-throughput sequencing to ex vivo samples from naturally infected buffalo to determine the extent of diversity in a set of antigen-en

SUBMITTER: Hemmink JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5854372 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature