418434

Morphological Description and Molecular Characterization of Ascaridia columbae Infecting Domestic Pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, Based on ITS rD

Article

Last updated: 29 Mar 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

PARASITOLOGY

Abstract

Ascaridia columbae is a parasitic nematode commonly infecting domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica), leading to significant health issues and economic losses in avian populations. From April 2018 to March 2019, 130 domestic pigeons from Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, were examined, with 20.7% found to be infected. The high prevalence of infection may be attributed to the selection of weak, lethargic, and poorly growing pigeons. Morphological features of adult worms were studied both macroscopically and microscopically, with a focus on diagnostic traits such as body size, sexual dimorphism, anterior and esophageal structures, and reproductive organs. Detailed morphometric measurements were provided to support species identification. For molecular characterization, DNA was extracted from individual worms, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR amplification produced a fragment of approximately 900 bp in size. An 897 bp segment of the ITS rDNA sequences was submitted to GenBank with accession numbers OP215354 and OP215355. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the A. columbae samples from the current study are extremely similar to other A. columbae sequences, particularly those from Egypt and China. The genetic distinction between A. columbae and A. galli is evident, supporting the view that they are separate species with unique evolutionary paths despite sharing most morphological features. These findings provide new insights into the morphological and molecular characteristics of A. columbae, contributing to a better understanding of its epidemiology and genetic diversity in Egypt.

DOI

10.21608/ijtar.2024.332498.1090

Keywords

Ascaridia columbae, domestic pigeon, Morphology, ITS-rDNA

Authors

First Name

Nahed S.

Last Name

Amer

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Agricultural Zoology and Nematology, Faculty of Agriculture (Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

nahedamer.2066@azhar.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Abd Elsattar M.

Last Name

Metwally

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Agricultural Zoology and Nematology, Faculty of Agriculture (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, 11751, Cairo, Egypt

Email

metwally844@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Wafaa Fayez

Last Name

Abd El-Hamed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Agricultural Zoology and Nematology, Faculty of Agriculture (Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

memo_modern2010@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ayman N.

Last Name

Elsayed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, 11884, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ayman.n.elsayed@azhar.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-7533-3104

Volume

3

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

50362

Issue Date

2024-12-01

Receive Date

2024-11-14

Publish Date

2024-12-31

Page Start

505

Page End

514

Print ISSN

2812-5878

Online ISSN

2812-5886

Link

https://ijtar.journals.ekb.eg/article_418434.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=418434

Order

418,434

Type

Original Article

Type Code

2,366

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Research

Publication Link

https://ijtar.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Morphological Description and Molecular Characterization of Ascaridia columbae Infecting Domestic Pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, Based on ITS rD

Details

Type

Article

Created At

29 Mar 2025