Abstract
Microsporidia are obligate, intracellular, eukaryotic parasites found in a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Scientific literature contains a small number of reports of these parasites in psittacine hosts, and recently microsporidiosis was reported in the first nonpsittacine host, an ostrich. DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded ostrich tissues, and a portion of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene was sequenced to identify the microsporidian species. The organisms were identified as Encephalitozoon hellem, a parasite species that was first described in immunocompromised humans and recently reported in three psittacine species.
Publication types
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Base Sequence
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Bird Diseases / parasitology*
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Bird Diseases / pathology
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DNA, Protozoan / genetics
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DNA, Protozoan / isolation & purification
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DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
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DNA, Ribosomal / isolation & purification
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Encephalitozoon / classification*
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Encephalitozoon / genetics*
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Encephalitozoon / isolation & purification
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Encephalitozoonosis / pathology
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Encephalitozoonosis / veterinary*
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Humans
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Parrots
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RNA, Protozoan / genetics
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RNA, Ribosomal / genetics
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Sequence Alignment
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Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
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Struthioniformes / parasitology*
Substances
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DNA, Protozoan
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DNA, Ribosomal
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RNA, Protozoan
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RNA, Ribosomal