ABSTRACT
Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) of livestock are endemic across various parts of tropical countries. Theileriosis is one such economically important TBD, caused by the Theileriidae family of organisms, which is transmitted by ticks. Theileria annulata, the causative agent of tropical theileriosis, contributes a significant loss to the dairy sector by causing anorexia, high fever, anemia, inflammatory changes in vital organs and icterus, thus, a loss in milk yield. Though vaccines are available, their protective efficacy is not absolute, and treatment is limited to early diagnosis of the causative agent. Routinely, microscopic identification of piroplasms in the erythrocytes (Giemsa-stained) of infected animals or schizonts in lymph node biopsies are practiced for diagnosis. PCR-based techniques (multiplex, uniplex, nested and real-time) have been reported to perform well in diagnosing active infection. Several attempts have been made using serological assays like Dot blot, ELISA and ICT, but the results were of variable sensitivity and specificity. Recombinant proteins like the Theileria annulata merozoite surface antigen (Tams1) and Theileria annulata surface protein (TaSP) have been explored as antigenic candidates for these assays. In the present study, we predicted an immunogenic peptide, i.e., TaSP-34, from the TaSP using various computational tools. The predicted peptide was custom synthesized. The diagnostic potential of the peptide was assessed by indirect plate ELISA to detect the bovine-IgM against Theileria annulata. Alongside, a recombinant truncated TaSP (rTaSP(tr)) was expressed and purified, which was used to compare the performance of the peptide as a diagnostic candidate. The IgM-based peptide ELISA was 100% sensitive and 92.77% specific as compared to PCR (Tams1 targeting), while 98.04% sensitivity and 97.44% specificity were observed in comparison with rTaSP(tr) ELISA. Almost perfect agreement between peptide ELISA and Tams1 PCR was observed with a Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ-value) of 0.901 and agreement of 95.31%. Further, the κ-value between the peptide ELISA and rTaSP(tr) ELISA was found to be 0.95, and the agreement was 97.65%, which shows a good correlation between the two tests. The findings suggest that the TaSP-34 peptide can be an efficient and new-generation diagnostic candidate for the diagnosis of T. annulata. Furthermore, the peptide can be synthesized commercially at a larger scale and can be a cost-effective alternative for the protein-based diagnostic candidates for T. annulata.
ABSTRACT
The present study has been done on the mandible of blackbuck. The mandible was a paired bone. It was the largest bone of the skull, and it was made up of two halves, which were united with immovable articulation forming mandibular symphysis. It presented for description three surfaces and three borders. The lingual sur-face was smooth and concave. Its symphyseal surface was rough and irregular. The most prominent part of the curve of the ramus formed the angle of the jaw; the part of the ramus between the body and the angle was called horizontal part and carries the lower cheek teeth. The part of the ramus above the angle was termed the vertical part. The vertical part of ramus was non-tooth bearing, expanded vertical part of mandible. Each ramus presented for description two surfaces, two borders and two extremities. The lateral surface was widest at the angle and tapers towards the extremities.
Este estudio se llevó a cabo sobre la mandíbula del antílope negro. La mandíbula del antílope negro es un hueso emparejado, corresponde al hueso más grande del cráneo, y está compuesto de dos mitades, unidas por una articulación inmóvil formando la sínfisis mandibular. Se observaron tres superficies y tres márgenes. La superficie lingual era lisa y cóncava y la superficie sinfisial era áspera e irregular. La zona más prominente de la curva de la rama formó el ángulo de la mandíbula; el punto de la rama entre el cuerpo y el ángulo se denomina el área horizontal y lleva a los dientes de la mandíbula inferior. El punto de la rama superior al ángulo es conocido como el área vertical. Cada rama presentó para la descripción dos superficies, dos márgenes y dos extremidades. La superficie lateral era más ancha en el ángulo y se extendía hacia las extremidades.
