Forward genetic analysis of monensin and diclazuril resistance in Eimeria tenella

Hongtao Zhang; Lei Zhang; Ganglin Ren; Hongbin Si; Xingju Song; Xianyong Liu; Xun Suo; Dandan Hu

doi:10.1016/j.ijpddr.2023.05.002

Forward genetic analysis of monensin and diclazuril resistance in Eimeria tenella

Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist. 2023 Aug:22:44-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2023.05.002. Epub 2023 May 24.

Authors

Hongtao Zhang¹, Lei Zhang¹, Ganglin Ren¹, Hongbin Si², Xingju Song², Xianyong Liu³, Xun Suo³, Dandan Hu⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China.
² College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Engineering Research Center of Veterinary Biologics, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Control and Prevention, Nanning, 530004, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
⁴ College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Engineering Research Center of Veterinary Biologics, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Control and Prevention, Nanning, 530004, China. Electronic address: hudandan@gxu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Worldwide distributed coccidiosis is caused by infection of both Eimeria species and Cystoisospora in the host intestine and causes huge economic losses to the livestock industry, especially the poultry industry. The control of such diseases relies mainly on chemoprophylaxis with anticoccidials, which has led to a very common drug resistance in this field. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying resistance to many anticoccidial drugs remain unknown. In this study, strains of E. tenella resistant to 250 mg/kg monensin were generated and characterized. Forward genetic approaches based on pooled genome sequencing, including experimental evolution and linkage group selection, were used to locate candidate targets responsible for resistance to monensin and diclazuril in E. tenella. A total of 16 nonsynonymous mutants in protein-coding genes were identified in monensin-resistant strains, and two genomic regions with strong selection signals were also detected in diclazuril-resistant strains. Our study reveals the genetic characterization of the experimental evolution and linkage group selection in Eimeria species, and also provides important information that contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanism of drug resistance in coccidia.

Keywords: Diclazuril; Eimeria; Linkage group selection; Monensin; WGS.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Chickens
Coccidiosis* / drug therapy
Coccidiosis* / veterinary
Coccidiostats* / pharmacology
Coccidiostats* / therapeutic use
Eimeria tenella* / genetics
Eimeria*
Monensin / therapeutic use
Poultry Diseases* / drug therapy
Poultry Diseases* / prevention & control

Substances

Monensin
Coccidiostats
diclazuril