Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea

National Institute of Ecology (국립생태원)
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Infection by a Filarial Nematode from the Family Onchocercidae in the Wild Bird Anas falcata

  • Kim, Young Ji (Department of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Science, Chungbuk National University) ;
  • Jang, Jin Ho (Department of Wildlife Disease, College of Veterinary Science, Jeju National University) ;
  • Kim, Min Chan (Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Chungbuk National University) ;
  • Park, Young-Seok (Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center, Kongju National University) ;
  • Kim, Hye Kwon (Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Chungbuk National University)
  • Received : 2022.07.26
  • Accepted : 2022.10.17
  • Published : 2022.11.01
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Abstract

A filarial nematode was found in a blood sample of an Anas falcata individual collected in South Korea in 2018. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences placed the nematode as a novel genus of the family Onchocercidae and as closely related to Mansonella species, Chandlerella quiscali, and filarial nematodes recently reported in avian species. However, different phylogenetic relationship was observed in the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 and 12S rRNA-based phylogenetic trees, which might indicate the filarial nematode found in this study was not defined to belong to the known specific genera of the family Onchocercidae. The screening of 105 additional avian blood samples retrieved only one 12S rRNA-targeting polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive sample, which indicates that filarial nematode infection is rare in wild birds or that it occurs below the detection limit of PCR in blood samples. Nevertheless, considering the recent findings about ancient interactions between birds and human pathogenic filarial nematodes and their pathogenic potential in several avian species, additional exploration of novel filarial nematodes in wild birds remains necessary.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2018M3A9H4056347), and by the BioNano Health-Guard Research Center, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of Korea as a Global Frontier Project (Grant No. H-GUARD_2013M3A6B2078954).

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