Publications

genomic resources for a unique, low-virulence babesia taxon from china.	babesiosis is a socioeconomically important tick-borne disease of animals (including humans) caused by haemoprotozoan parasites. the severity of babesiosis relates to host and parasite factors, particularly virulence/pathogenicity. although babesia bovis is a particularly pathogenic species of cattle, there are species of babesia of ruminants that have limited pathogenicity. for instance, the operational taxonomic unit babesia sp. xinjiang (abbreviated here as bx) of sheep from china is substant ...	2016	27784333
seroprevalence of babesia bovis, b. bigemina, trypanosoma evansi, and anaplasma marginale antibodies in cattle in southern egypt.	babesia bovis, b. bigemina, trypanosoma evansi, and anaplasma marginale infections cause serious diseases in cattle, and are primarily transmitted by arthropod vectors (ticks for b. bovis, b. bigemina, and a. marginale and various types of flies for t. evansi). in the last few years, there have been many reports of a high prevalence of certain protozoan infections in northern egypt, but no accurate or adequate data are available for the southern regions. therefore, in this study, we screened for ...	2017	27789159
a comparison of dna extraction protocols from blood spotted on fta cards for the detection of tick-borne pathogens by reverse line blot hybridization.	an essential step in the molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens (tbps) in blood is the extraction of dna. when cooled storage of blood under field conditions prior to dna extraction in a dedicated laboratory is not possible, the storage of blood on filter paper forms a promising alternative. we evaluated six dna extraction methods from blood spotted on fta classic(®) cards (fta cards), to determine the optimal protocol for the subsequent molecular detection of tbps by pcr and the reverse li ...	2017	27825733
comparative bioinformatics analysis of transcription factor genes indicates conservation of key regulatory domains among babesia bovis, babesia microti, and theileria equi.	apicomplexa tick-borne hemoparasites, including babesia bovis, babesia microti, and theileria equi are responsible for bovine and human babesiosis and equine theileriosis, respectively. these parasites of vast medical, epidemiological, and economic impact have complex life cycles in their vertebrate and tick hosts. large gaps in knowledge concerning the mechanisms used by these parasites for gene regulation remain. regulatory genes coding for dna binding proteins such as members of the api-ap2, ...	2016	27832060
identification of interchangeable cross-species function of elongation factor-1 alpha promoters in babesia bigemina and babesia bovis.	tick-borne babesia bigemina is responsible for acute and potentially lethal hemolytic disease in cattle. the development of genetic manipulation tools necessary to the better understanding of parasite biology is currently limited by the lack of a complete parasite genome and experimental tools such as transfection. effective promoters, required to regulate expression of transgenes, such as the elongation factor-1 alpha (ef-1α), have been identified in other apicomplexans such as babesia bovis an ...	2016	27835993
a recombinant multi-antigen vaccine formulation containing babesia bovis merozoite surface antigens msa-2a1, msa-2b and msa-2c elicits invasion-inhibitory antibodies and ifn-γ producing cells.	babesia bovis is a tick-transmitted protozoan hemoparasite and the causative agent of bovine babesiosis, a potential risk to more than 500 million cattle worldwide. the vaccines currently available are based on attenuated parasites, which are difficult to produce, and are only recommended for use in bovines under one year of age. when used in older animals, these vaccines may cause life-threatening clinical symptoms and eventually death. the development of a multi-subunit recombinant vaccine aga ...	2016	27842609
transfected babesia bovis expressing a tick gst as a live vector vaccine.	the rhipicephalus microplus tick is a notorious blood-feeding ectoparasite of livestock, especially cattle, responsible for massive losses in animal production. it is the main vector for transmission of pathogenic bacteria and parasites, including babesia bovis, an intraerythrocytic apicomplexan protozoan parasite responsible for bovine babesiosis. this study describes the development and testing of a live b. bovis vaccine expressing the protective tick antigen glutathione-s-transferase from hae ...	2016	27911903
the apicoplast genomes of two taxonomic units of babesia from sheep.	the apicoplast (ap) is a unique, non-photosynthetic organelle found in most apicomplexan parasites. due to the essential roles that this organelle has, it has been widely considered as target for drugs against diseases caused by apicomplexans. exploring the ap genomes of such parasites would provide a better understanding of their systematics and their basic molecular biology for therapeutics. however, there is limited information available on the ap genomes of apicomplexan parasites. in the pre ...	2017	27916258
evaluating an indirect rmpsp enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of bovine theileria infection in china.	bovine theileriosis, a tick-borne protozoan disease caused by theileria annulata, theileria orientalis and theileria sinensis, is widespread in china and is a serious economic problem for the chinese livestock industry. in this study, recombinant major piroplasma surface proteins (mpsp) of t. annulata, t. orientalis and t. sinensis based on mpsp genes were expressed in escherichia coli bl21(de3). the immunogenicity and specificity of the three purified recombinant mpsp proteins were evaluated wi ...	2017	27942962
parasitological and molecular surveys reveal high rates of infection with vector-borne pathogens and clinical anemia signs associated with infection in cattle from two important livestock areas in colombia.	in colombia, vector-borne diseases are one of the most important problems in the livestock industry. the present study reports parasitological and molecular surveys of vector-borne pathogens in cattle from two high-value livestock areas in colombia. a total of 464 samples (226 from antioquia and 238 from arauca) were analyzed. while the blood smear analysis identified 98 (21.1%), 14 (3.0%) and 30 (6.5%) positive samples for anaplasma spp., babesia spp. and trypanosoma spp., respectively, the mol ...	2017	27956049
molecular detection and genetic diversity of bovine babesia spp., theileria orientalis, and anaplasma marginale in beef cattle in thailand.	babesia spp., theileria orientalis, and anaplasma marginale are significant tick-borne pathogens that affect the health and productivity of cattle in tropical and subtropical areas. in this study, we used pcr to detect the presence of babesia bovis, babesia bigemina, and t. orientalis in 279 beef cattle from western thailand and a. marginale in 608 beef cattle from the north, northeastern, and western regions. the pcrs were performed using species-specific primers based on the b. bovis spherical ...	2017	28028631
neither quantification by qpcr nor quantitative elisa can be used to discriminate angus cattle for resistance/susceptibility to babesia bovis.	with the aim of finding quantitative phenotypic traits that can be used to discriminate the levels of resistance/susceptibility to babesia bovis, we estimated the repeatability and correlation between the level of infection, determined by the number of copies of a fragment of the gene that encodes cytochrome b (nc mt-cyb) of b. bovis, and the levels of the anti-b. bovis antibodies, in blood samples collected from 51 angus cattle on two different occasions. samples with the anticoagulant edta wer ...	2017	28089650
analysis of stage-specific protein expression during babesia bovis development within female rhipicephalus microplus.	arthropod-borne protozoan pathogens have a complex life cycle that includes asexual reproduction of haploid stages in mammalian hosts and the development of diploid stages in invertebrate hosts. the ability of pathogens to invade, survive, and replicate within distinct cell types is required to maintain their life cycle. in this study, we describe a comparative proteomic analysis of a cattle pathogen, babesia bovis, during its development within the mammalian and tick hosts with the goal of iden ...	2017	28152313
putrescine: essential factor for in vitro proliferation of babesia bovis.	this study reports the effect of putrescine addition, either alone or in combination with insulin, transferrin and selenite (its), to serum-free advanced dmem/f12 (a-dmem/f12) medium, on the in vitro culture of babesia bovis and using a perfusion bioreactor to improve efficiency of the process. a b. bovis strain previously adapted to proliferate in serum-free medium (bbovis-sf) was evaluated using eight increasing concentrations of putrescine. the percentage of parasitized erythrocytes (ppe) obt ...	2017	28153804
a novel modified-indirect elisa based on spherical body protein 4 for detecting antibody during acute and long-term infections with diverse babesia bovis strains.	cattle persistently infected with babesia bovis are reservoirs for intra- and inter-herd transmission. since b. bovis is considered a persistent infection, developing a reliable, high-throughput assay that detects antibody during all stages of the infection could be pivotal for establishing better control protocols.	2017	28193250
comparison between conventional and molecular methods for diagnosis of bovine babesiosis (babesia bovis infection) in tick infested cattle in upper egypt.	ticks and tick-borne diseases are the main problems affecting the livestock production in egypt. bovine babesiosis has adverse effects on the animal health and production. a comparison of giemsa stained blood smears, polymerase chain reaction (pcr) and nested pcr (npcr) assays for detection of babesia bovis infection in egyptian baladi cattle (bos taurus) in reference to reverse line blot was carried out. the sensitivity of pcr and nested pcr (npcr) assays were 65 and 100 % respectively. giemsa ...	2017	28316419
evaluation of immunochromatographic test (ict) strips for the serological detection of babesia bovis and babesia bigemina infection in cattle from western java, indonesia.	three types of immunochromatographic test (ict) strips were prepared for the detection of an antibody response against spherical body protein 4 (sbp-4) of babesia bovis (bovict), c-terminal-truncated rhoptry-associated protein 1 (rrap1/ct17) of b. bigemina (bigict), and the combination of both proteins (dual-ict). the evaluation of their performance was conducted using a confirmed positive and negative serum panel for b. bovis and b. bigemina. together with elisa, the ict strips were applied to ...	2017	28413078
inhibition of the in vitro growth of babesia bigemina, babesia caballi and theileria equi parasites by trifluralin analogues.	bovine and equine babesiosis caused by babesia bovis, babesia bigemina and babesia caballi, along with equine theileriosis caused by theileria equi are global tick-borne hemoprotozoan diseases characterized by fever, anemia, weight losses and abortions. a common feature of these diseases are transition from acute to chronic phases, in which parasites may persist in the hosts for life. antiprotozoal drugs are important for managing infection and disease. previous research demonstrated that triflu ...	2017	28416183
molecular investigation of piroplasma infection in white yaks (bos grunniens) in gansu province, china.	piroplasmosis, including theileriosis and babesiosis, is a tick-borne haemoprotozoan disease responsible for huge economic losses to livestock industry. in china, the biology of piroplasms infective to cattle was well understood on the basis of pathogen isolations and molecular epidemiological surveys in the past few decades. but very limited information about the infection status of piroplasms in white yak (bos grunniens), a semi-wild and endemic breed, has been recorded, so far. a total of 350 ...	2017	28427963
geno- and phenotypic characteristics of a transfected babesia bovis 6-cys-e knockout clonal line.	babesia bovis is an intra-erythrocytic tick-transmitted apicomplexan protozoan parasite. it has a complex lifestyle including asexual replication in the mammalian host and sexual replication occurring in the midgut of host tick vector, typically, rhipicephalus microplus. previous evidence showed that certain b. bovis genes, including members of 6-cys gene family, are differentially expressed during tick and mammalian stages of the parasite's life cycle. moreover, the 6-cys e gene is differential ...	2017	28464956
efficacy of south african babesia bovis vaccine against field isolates.	a high-passage babesia bovis vaccine containing only one genotype population was, although protective, inferior compared to the immunity afforded by a lower passage of the same strain containing two populations. the 24 times serially passaged south african b. bovis s vaccine strain contain only a single parasite population (bv80 allele a 558bp). forty-four field isolates sampled were all found different with regard to the number and composition of the parasite populations present in each isolate ...	2017	28499721
evaluation of the inhibitory effect of n-acetyl-l-cysteine on babesia and theileria parasites.	n-acetyl-l-cysteine is known to have antibacterial, antiviral, antimalarial, and antioxidant activities. therefore, the in vitro inhibitory effect of this hit was evaluated in the present study on the growth of babesia and theileria parasites. the in vitro growth of babesia bovis, babesia bigemina, babesia divergens, theileria equi, and babesia caballi that were tested was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) by micromolar concentrations of n-acetyl-l-cysteine. the inhibitory effect of n-acetyl-l- ...	2017	28655583
babesia bovis bov57, a theileria parva p67 homolog, is an invasion-related, neutralization-sensitive antigen.	babesia bovis bov57, which is a homolog of the theileria parva vaccine candidate antigen p67, is expressed in both the tick and blood stages of the life cycle of this parasite. however, the vaccine potential of bov57 remained to be investigated. in the present study, we generated recombinant bov57 (rbov57) and prepared polyclonal antibodies against rbov57 in mice and rabbits. indirect immunofluorescence assays conducted with the mouse anti-rbov57 antibody demonstrated that bov57 localized at the ...	2017	28668608
recovery of bovine babesia spp. after long-term cryostorage and comparison of bovine donor erythrocytes and serum.	cultured babesia bovis and babesia bigemina were recovered from liquid nitrogen storage nearly 30 years after they were cryopreserved. four cattle were compared as donors of erythrocytes and serum for microaerophilous stationary phase (masp) cultures for recovery of b. bigemina. erythrocytes and serum from only one (#913) of the four animals supported growth of b. bigemina. two b. bigemina (frozen in 1986 and 1987) and two b. bovis (both frozen in 1986) cryostocks were recovered from liquid nitr ...	2017	28807277
low levels of genetic diversity associated with evidence of negative selection on the babesia bovis apical membrane antigen 1 from parasite populations in thailand.	babesia bovis, a parasite infecting cattle and buffalo, continues to spread throughout the developing world. the babesial vaccine was developed to be a sustainable alternative treatment to control the parasite. however, genetic diversity is a major obstacle for designing and developing a safe and effective vaccine. the apical membrane antigen 1 (ama-1) is considered to be a potential vaccine candidate antigen among immunogenic genes of b. bovis. to gain a more comprehensive understanding of b. b ...	2017	28807856
flavonoid and galloyl glycosides isolated from saxifraga spinulosa and their antioxidative and inhibitory activities against species that cause piroplasmosis.	eight new flavonoid-based 3'-o-β-d-glucopyranosides (1-8) and three new galloyl glucosides (9, 11, 12), were isolated from the aerial parts of saxifraga spinulosa, along with 25 known compounds. the structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. most of the isolated compounds exhibited potent dpph radical-scavenging activities. further, their inhibitory activities were evaluated against babesia bovis, babesia bigemina, babesia caballi, and theileria equi, protozoan par ...	2017	28832147