Multi-locus sequence typing confirms the clonality ofTrichomonas gallinaeisolates circulating in European finches

Abstract

SUMMARYIn recent years,Trichomonas gallinaeemerged as the causative agent of an infectious disease of passerine birds in Europe leading to epidemic mortality of especially greenfinchesChloris chlorisand chaffinchesFringilla coelebs. After the appearance of finch trichomonosis in the UK and Fennoscandia, the disease spread to Central Europe. Finch trichomonosis first reached Austria and Slovenia in 2012. In the present study the genetic heterogeneity ofT. gallinaeisolates from incidents in Austria and Slovenia were investigated and compared with British isolates. For this purpose comparative sequence analyses of the four genomic loci ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, 18S rRNA,rpb1and Fe-hydrogenase were performed. The results corroborate that one clonalT. gallinaestrain caused the emerging infectious disease within passerine birds and that the disease is continuing to spread in Europe. The same clonal strain was also found in a columbid bird from Austria. Additionally, the present study demonstrates clearly the importance of multi-locus sequence typing for discrimination of circulatingT. gallinaestrains.