Identification and antigenicity of the Babesia caballi spherical body protein 4 (SBP4).

Parasites & Vectors
Mona S MahmoudCarlos E Suarez

Abstract

The tick-borne intra-erythrocytic apicomplexan Babesia caballi is one of the etiological agents of equine babesiosis, an economically important disease of equids in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Discovering candidate antigens for improved diagnostic tools and vaccines remains needed for controlling equine babesiosis. This study describes the B. caballi sbp4 (Bcsbp4) gene and protein (BcSBP4) and analyzes its antigenicity in infected equids. BLAST searches of an uncurated B. caballi assembly genome using the B. bovis SBP4 as a query were carried out, followed by PCR amplification and sequencing of a newly identified BcSBP4. Characterization of this novel gene and protein was performed by bioinformatics analysis, western blots, immunofluorescence (IFA) and an in vitro neutralization test using anti SBP4 peptide antibodies. Antigenicity of recombinant BcSBP4 (rBcSBP4) was tested with sera from field animals (n = 18) using an indirect ELISA (iELISA). Babesia caballi genome searches using B. bovis SBP4 as a query allowed identification of a novel gene termed Bcsbp4. The Bcsbp4 gene encodes for a protein of 30.58 kDa, which is fully conserved among B. caballi isolates from USA and Egypt. Bioinformatics analysis in...Continue Reading

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Datasets Mentioned

BETA
MT032179

Methods Mentioned

BETA
ELISA
cELISA
light microscopy
PCR
FCS
in silico sequencing
enzyme-linked immunosorbent
iELISA

Software Mentioned

MINOU
FCS Express
InCyte
Prism
tBLAST
CLC Genomics Workbench
guavaSoft
GraphPad

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Babesiosis is caused by parasites of the genus babesia, which are transmitted in nature by the bite of an infected tick. Discover the latest research on babesiosis here.

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Babesiosis is caused by parasites of the genus babesia, which are transmitted in nature by the bite of an infected tick. Discover the latest research on babesiosis here.