Molecular analysis of clonal trichomonad isolates indicate the existence of heterogenic species present in different birds and within the same host

Trichomonas gallinae is a flagellated protozoon and the etiological agent of avian trichomonosis. Despite its importance, especially in columbiformes and falconiformes, only a few molecular studies have yet been performed in order to investigate the degree of genetic diversity and cross-transmissibility between different isolates of this parasite. To address these questions 63 clonal cultures of Trichomonas spp. isolates were established by successful isolation of single trichomonads from a mixture of micro-organisms obtained from 17 birds belonging to five different species. All birds were from Austria with the exception of one bird which originated from the Czech Republic. The sequence of the complete genomic region spanning the two ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5.8S rRNA gene was determined for all 63 isolates. In addition, in order to compare the results obtained with the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region the sequence of the 18S rRNA gene was determined from a subset of isolates. Unrooted phylogenetic trees inferred by distance, parsimony, and likelihood methods suggest the existence of at least three clusters within the T. gallinae species complex, two groups being closely related to the human pathogens, Trichomonas vaginalis and Trichomonas tenax. Furthermore, for the first time two different trichomonad sequence types isolated at the same time from a single bird could be detected in the crops of two pigeons.