Molecular Detection of Hepatozoon canis in Dogs of Ardabil Province, Northwest of Iran

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Department of Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University

3 Infectious diseases Research Center, Aja University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Hepatozoon species are protozoan parasites that infect some animals such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, and carnivores. Previous studies performed on canine hepatozoonosis in Iran have never used molecular techniques for diagnosis of this disease. The main objective of the present study was to detect Hepatozoon canis in the blood of dogs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and sequencing. A total of 104 blood samples were collected from dogs of Meshginshahr County (Ardabil Province), and DNA was extracted from blood samples by dint of DNG-plus Extraction Kit. Then, 18S rRNA gene was amplified by using the conventional PCR methods. PCR products yielded an amplicon of the approximate length of 897 bp for all the positive samples. Twenty-four out of the 104 (23.07%) samples were found to be positive for H. canis. This rate of infection is relatively high among dogs in Ardabil Province. Sequence analysis confirmed the molecular identity of 99% of the samples by comparison with GenBank profiles. This is the first report of molecular detection of H. canis from Iran.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [French]

Diagnostic moléculaire de l’hépatozoonose canine dans la province d’Ardabil, nord-ouest de l'Iran

Abstract [French]

Les espèces d’hépatozoonose sont des protozoaires infectant les animaux tels que les oiseaux, les reptiles, les amphibiens et les carnivores. Bien que l’hépatozoonose canine ait été rapportée en Iran, elle n'a pas encore été détectée par des méthodes moléculaires. L'objectif principal de cette étude était le diagnostic moléculaire de l’hépatozoonose canine par la méthode PCR et la détermination de sa séquence nucléotidique. A cet effet, 104 échantillons de sang provenant des chiens de la ville de Meshkinshahr (Province Ardabil) ont été recueillies et les ADNs ont été extraites à l’aide du kit DNG-PLUS. Ensuite le gène SrRNA 18 a été amplifié par PCR conventionnelle afin de déterminer sa séquence. Une bande d'environ 897 pb a été identifiée dans les échantillons positifs et 24 des 104 échantillons analysés (23.7%) étaient infectés par une hépatozoonose canine. Ce pourcentage d'infestation chez les chiens de la province Ardabil est relativement élevé. La séquence moléculaire du fragment étudié était 99% similaire à celles enregistrées dans la banque de gènes. Cette étude représente le premier rapport sur la détection de l’hépatozoonose canine en Iran.

Keywords [French]

  • Hépatozoonose canine
  • PCR
  • Chien
  • Province d’Ardabil
  • Iran

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Archives of Razi Institute
Volume 72, Issue 3
September and October 2017
Pages 197-201

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