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Palmateer NC, Munro JB, Nagaraj S, Crabtree J, Pelle R, Tallon L, Nene V, Bishop R, Silva JC. The Hypervariable Tpr Multigene Family of Theileria Parasites, Defined by a Conserved, Membrane-Associated, C-Terminal Domain, Includes Several Copies with Defined Orthology Between Species. J Mol Evol 2023; 91:897-911. [PMID: 38017120 PMCID: PMC10730637 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-023-10142-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Multigene families often play an important role in host-parasite interactions. One of the largest multigene families in Theileria parva, the causative agent of East Coast fever, is the T. parva repeat (Tpr) gene family. The function of the putative Tpr proteins remains unknown. The initial publication of the T. parva reference genome identified 39 Tpr family open reading frames (ORFs) sharing a conserved C-terminal domain. Twenty-eight of these are clustered in a central region of chromosome 3, termed the "Tpr locus", while others are dispersed throughout all four nuclear chromosomes. The Tpr locus contains three of the four assembly gaps remaining in the genome, suggesting the presence of additional, as yet uncharacterized, Tpr gene copies. Here, we describe the use of long-read sequencing to attempt to close the gaps in the reference assembly of T. parva (located among multigene families clusters), characterize the full complement of Tpr family ORFs in the T. parva reference genome, and evaluate their evolutionary relationship with Tpr homologs in other Theileria species. We identify three new Tpr family genes in the T. parva reference genome and show that sequence similarity among paralogs in the Tpr locus is significantly higher than between genes outside the Tpr locus. We also identify sequences homologous to the conserved C-terminal domain in five additional Theileria species. Using these sequences, we show that the evolution of this gene family involves conservation of a few orthologs across species, combined with gene gains/losses, and species-specific expansions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas C Palmateer
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - James B Munro
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sushma Nagaraj
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jonathan Crabtree
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Roger Pelle
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Luke Tallon
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Vish Nene
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Richard Bishop
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Joana C Silva
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, GHTM, Instituto de Higiene E Medicina Tropical, IHMT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, UNL, Lisbon, Portugal.
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2
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Connelley T, Nicastri A, Sheldrake T, Vrettou C, Fisch A, Reynisson B, Buus S, Hill A, Morrison I, Nielsen M, Ternette N. Immunopeptidomic Analysis of BoLA-I and BoLA-DR Presented Peptides from Theileria parva Infected Cells. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10111907. [PMID: 36423003 PMCID: PMC9699068 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The apicomplexan parasite Theileria parva is the causative agent of East Coast fever, usually a fatal disease for cattle, which is prevalent in large areas of eastern, central, and southern Africa. Protective immunity against T. parva is mediated by CD8+ T cells, with CD4+ T-cells thought to be important in facilitating the full maturation and development of the CD8+ T-cell response. T. parva has a large proteome, with >4000 protein-coding genes, making T-cell antigen identification using conventional screening approaches laborious and expensive. To date, only a limited number of T-cell antigens have been described. Novel approaches for identifying candidate antigens for T. parva are required to replace and/or complement those currently employed. In this study, we report on the use of immunopeptidomics to study the repertoire of T. parva peptides presented by both BoLA-I and BoLA-DR molecules on infected cells. The study reports on peptides identified from the analysis of 13 BoLA-I and 6 BoLA-DR datasets covering a range of different BoLA genotypes. This represents the most comprehensive immunopeptidomic dataset available for any eukaryotic pathogen to date. Examination of the immunopeptidome data suggested the presence of a large number of coprecipitated and non-MHC-binding peptides. As part of the work, a pipeline to curate the datasets to remove these peptides was developed and used to generate a final list of 74 BoLA-I and 15 BoLA-DR-presented peptides. Together, the data demonstrated the utility of immunopeptidomics as a method to identify novel T-cell antigens for T. parva and the importance of careful curation and the application of high-quality immunoinformatics to parse the data generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Connelley
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Annalisa Nicastri
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Tara Sheldrake
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Christina Vrettou
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Andressa Fisch
- Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes, Ribeirão Preto 3900, Brazil
| | - Birkir Reynisson
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Soren Buus
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Adrian Hill
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Ivan Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Morten Nielsen
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín CP1650, Argentina
| | - Nicola Ternette
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
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3
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Morrison WI, Aguado A, Sheldrake TA, Palmateer NC, Ifeonu OO, Tretina K, Parsons K, Fenoy E, Connelley T, Nielsen M, Silva JC. CD4 T Cell Responses to Theileria parva in Immune Cattle Recognize a Diverse Set of Parasite Antigens Presented on the Surface of Infected Lymphoblasts. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2021; 207:1965-1977. [PMID: 34507950 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2100331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Parasite-specific CD8 T cell responses play a key role in mediating immunity against Theileria parva in cattle (Bos taurus), and there is evidence that efficient induction of these responses requires CD4 T cell responses. However, information on the antigenic specificity of the CD4 T cell response is lacking. The current study used a high-throughput system for Ag identification using CD4 T cells from immune animals to screen a library of ∼40,000 synthetic peptides representing 499 T. parva gene products. Use of CD4 T cells from 12 immune cattle, representing 12 MHC class II types, identified 26 Ags. Unlike CD8 T cell responses, which are focused on a few dominant Ags, multiple Ags were recognized by CD4 T cell responses of individual animals. The Ags had diverse properties, but included proteins encoded by two multimember gene families: five haloacid dehalogenases and five subtelomere-encoded variable secreted proteins. Most Ags had predicted signal peptides and/or were encoded by abundantly transcribed genes, but neither parameter on their own was reliable for predicting antigenicity. Mapping of the epitopes confirmed presentation by DR or DQ class II alleles and comparison of available T. parva genome sequences demonstrated that they included both conserved and polymorphic epitopes. Immunization of animals with vaccine vectors expressing two of the Ags demonstrated induction of CD4 T cell responses capable of recognizing parasitized cells. The results of this study provide detailed insight into the CD4 T cell responses induced by T. parva and identify Ags suitable for use in vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Ivan Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom;
| | - Adriana Aguado
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Tara A Sheldrake
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas C Palmateer
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Olukemi O Ifeonu
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Kyle Tretina
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Keith Parsons
- Institute for Animal Health, Berkshire, United Kingdom
| | - Emilio Fenoy
- Biotechnological Research Institute, National University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Timothy Connelley
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Morten Nielsen
- Biotechnological Research Institute, National University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; and
| | - Joana C Silva
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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Allan FK, Jayaraman S, Paxton E, Sindoya E, Kibona T, Fyumagwa R, Mramba F, Torr SJ, Hemmink JD, Toye P, Lembo T, Handel I, Auty HK, Morrison WI, Morrison LJ. Antigenic Diversity in Theileria parva Populations From Sympatric Cattle and African Buffalo Analyzed Using Long Read Sequencing. Front Genet 2021; 12:684127. [PMID: 34335691 PMCID: PMC8320539 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.684127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
East Coast fever (ECF) in cattle is caused by the Apicomplexan protozoan parasite Theileria parva, transmitted by the three-host tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is the natural host for T. parva but does not suffer disease, whereas ECF is often fatal in cattle. The genetic relationship between T. parva populations circulating in cattle and buffalo is poorly understood, and has not been studied in sympatric buffalo and cattle. This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of T. parva populations in cattle and buffalo, in an area where livestock co-exist with buffalo adjacent to the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Three T. parva antigens (Tp1, Tp4, and Tp16), known to be recognized by CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in immunized cattle, were used to characterize genetic diversity of T. parva in cattle (n = 126) and buffalo samples (n = 22). Long read (PacBio) sequencing was used to generate full or near-full length allelic sequences. Patterns of diversity were similar across all three antigens, with allelic diversity being significantly greater in buffalo-derived parasites compared to cattle-derived (e.g., for Tp1 median cattle allele count was 9, and 81.5 for buffalo), with very few alleles shared between species (8 of 651 alleles were shared for Tp1). Most alleles were unique to buffalo with a smaller proportion unique to cattle (412 buffalo unique vs. 231 cattle-unique for Tp1). There were indications of population substructuring, with one allelic cluster of Tp1 representing alleles found in both cattle and buffalo (including the TpM reference genome allele), and another containing predominantly only alleles deriving from buffalo. These data illustrate the complex interplay between T. parva populations in buffalo and cattle, revealing the significant genetic diversity in the buffalo T. parva population, the limited sharing of parasite genotypes between the host species, and highlight that a subpopulation of T. parva is maintained by transmission within cattle. The data indicate that fuller understanding of buffalo T. parva population dynamics is needed, as only a comprehensive appreciation of the population genetics of T. parva populations will enable assessment of buffalo-derived infection risk in cattle, and how this may impact upon control measures such as vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona K Allan
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Siddharth Jayaraman
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Edith Paxton
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Emmanuel Sindoya
- Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Serengeti District Livestock Office, Mugumu, Tanzania
| | - Tito Kibona
- Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | | | - Furaha Mramba
- Vector and Vector-Borne Diseases Research Institute, Tanga, Tanzania
| | - Stephen J Torr
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Johanneke D Hemmink
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.,International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Philip Toye
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Tiziana Lembo
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Ian Handel
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Harriet K Auty
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - W Ivan Morrison
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Liam J Morrison
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Maboko BB, Sibeko-Matjila KP, Pierneef R, Chan WY, Josemans A, Marumo RD, Mbizeni S, Latif AA, Mans BJ. South African Buffalo-Derived Theileria parva Is Distinct From Other Buffalo and Cattle-Derived T. parva. Front Genet 2021; 12:666096. [PMID: 34249088 PMCID: PMC8269612 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.666096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Theileria parva is a protozoan parasite transmitted by the brown-eared ticks, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis. Buffaloes are the parasite's ancestral host, with cattle being the most recent host. The parasite has two transmission modes namely, cattle-cattle and buffalo-cattle transmission. Cattle-cattle T. parva transmission causes East Coast fever (ECF) and January disease syndromes. Buffalo to cattle transmission causes Corridor disease. Knowledge on the genetic diversity of South African T. parva populations will assist in determining its origin, evolution and identify any cattle-cattle transmitted strains. To achieve this, genomic DNA of blood and in vitro culture material infected with South African isolates (8160, 8301, 8200, 9620, 9656, 9679, Johnston, KNP2, HL3, KNP102, 9574, and 9581) were extracted and paired-end whole genome sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 2500 was performed. East and southern African sample data (Chitongo Z2, Katete B2, Kiambu Z464/C12, Mandali Z22H10, Entebbe, Nyakizu, Katumba, Buffalo LAWR, and Buffalo Z5E5) was also added for comparative purposes. Data was analyzed using BWA and SAMtools variant calling with the T. parva Muguga genome sequence used as a reference. Buffalo-derived strains had higher genetic diversity, with twice the number of variants compared to cattle-derived strains, confirming that buffaloes are ancestral reservoir hosts of T. parva. Host specific SNPs, however, could not be identified among the selected 74 gene sequences. Phylogenetically, strains tended to cluster by host with South African buffalo-derived strains clustering with buffalo-derived strains. Among the buffalo-derived strains, South African strains were genetically divergent from other buffalo-derived strains indicating possible geographic sub-structuring. Geographic sub- structuring was also observed within South Africa strains. The knowledge generated from this study indicates that to date, ECF is not circulating in buffalo from South Africa. It also shows that T. parva has historically been present in buffalo from South Africa before the introduction of ECF and was not introduced into buffalo during the ECF epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boitumelo B Maboko
- Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | | | - Rian Pierneef
- Agricultural Research Council, Biotechnology Platform, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Wai Y Chan
- Agricultural Research Council, Biotechnology Platform, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Antoinette Josemans
- Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ratselane D Marumo
- Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Sikhumbuzo Mbizeni
- Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Abdalla A Latif
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Ben J Mans
- Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
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6
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Mwamuye MM, Obara I, Elati K, Odongo D, Bakheit MA, Jongejan F, Nijhof AM. Unique Mitochondrial Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Demonstrate Resolution Potential to Discriminate Theileria parva Vaccine and Buffalo-Derived Strains. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10120334. [PMID: 33302571 PMCID: PMC7764068 DOI: 10.3390/life10120334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Distinct pathogenic and epidemiological features underlie different Theileria parva strains resulting in different clinical manifestations of East Coast Fever and Corridor Disease in susceptible cattle. Unclear delineation of these strains limits the control of these diseases in endemic areas. Hence, an accurate characterization of strains can improve the treatment and prevention approaches as well as investigate their origin. Here, we describe a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on 13 near-complete mitogenomes of T. parva strains originating from East and Southern Africa, including the live vaccine stock strains. We identified 11 SNPs that are non-preferentially distributed within the coding and non-coding regions, all of which are synonymous except for two within the cytochrome b gene of buffalo-derived strains. Our analysis ascertains haplotype-specific mutations that segregate the different vaccine and the buffalo-derived strains except T. parva-Muguga and Serengeti-transformed strains suggesting a shared lineage between the latter two vaccine strains. Phylogenetic analyses including the mitogenomes of other Theileria species: T. annulata, T. taurotragi, and T. lestoquardi, with the latter two sequenced in this study for the first time, were congruent with nuclear-encoded genes. Importantly, we describe seven T. parva haplotypes characterized by synonymous SNPs and parsimony-informative characters with the other three transforming species mitogenomes. We anticipate that tracking T. parva mitochondrial haplotypes from this study will provide insight into the parasite’s epidemiological dynamics and underpin current control efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micky M. Mwamuye
- Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany; (I.O.); (K.E.)
- Correspondence: (M.M.M.); (A.M.N.); Tel.: +49-30-838-62326 (A.M.N.)
| | - Isaiah Obara
- Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany; (I.O.); (K.E.)
| | - Khawla Elati
- Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany; (I.O.); (K.E.)
| | - David Odongo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100 Nairobi, Kenya;
| | - Mohammed A. Bakheit
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 321-11115 Khartoum, Sudan;
| | - Frans Jongejan
- Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases Research Programme, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa;
| | - Ard M. Nijhof
- Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany; (I.O.); (K.E.)
- Correspondence: (M.M.M.); (A.M.N.); Tel.: +49-30-838-62326 (A.M.N.)
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