A Babesia bovis gene syntenic to Theileria parva p67 is expressed in blood and tick stage parasites

Completion of the Babesia bovis (T2Bo strain) genome provides detailed data concerning the predicted proteome of this parasite, and allows for a bioinformatics approach to gene discovery. Comparative genomics of the hemoprotozoan parasites B. bovis and Theileria parva revealed a highly conserved syntenic block of genes flanking the p67 gene of T. parva, a sporozoite stage-specific vaccine candidate against East Coast fever (ECF). The syntenic gene in B. bovis, designated bov57, encodes a protein of limited amino acid sequence identity (11.8%) to p67. Monoclonal antibodies were produced against recombinant BOV57 and were used to demonstrate expression of BOV57 in merozoite and kinete stages of the T2Bo strain of B. bovis. Transcript levels of bov57 in kinetes were increased 100-fold in comparison to msa-1, a previously identified gene encoding an erythrocyte stage surface protein. Amino acid sequence comparisons between the T2Bo strain and two attenuated and virulent strains from Argentina and Australia revealed a high degree of sequence conservation in BOV57 among these geographically and pathogenically divergent isolates (97% amino acid sequence identity). Additional genomic comparisons show that the bov57 gene locus is also conserved inB. bigemina and B. equi. While not identifiable through amino acid or nucleotide sequence similarity, the conserved gene order within this locus in multiple piroplasms may suggest a critical function adapted for each species’ unique host and life-cycle

Bovine viral diarrhea diagnostic: immunohistochemistry standardization for routine Padronização da técnica de imunoistoquímica para o diagnóstico etiológico de rotina da diarréia bovina a vírus

The immunohistochemistry standardization for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) diagnostic was described. The formalin-fixed tissue samples from a heifer with mucosal disease were used as positive control. The validation of the first phase results was performed using samples from an aborted fetus and a calf infected with reference strains of BVDV. The best results were seen using monoclonal antibodies and a commercial kit consisting of labelled streptavidin biotin (LSAB) reagents and the diaminobenzidine (DAB) substrate-chromogen reagent. The immunohistochemistry demonstrated to be an useful method for routine diagnosis for the controll and detection of BVDV infection