Wild deer populations utilizing livestock grazing areas risk cross-species transmission of gastrointestinal nematode parasites (GINs), including GINs with anthelmintic resistance (AR) traits. Wild deer have been shown to carry problematic GIN species such as Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus species in the UK, but the presence of livestock GINs in Northern Ireland deer populations is unknown. Also, is it not known whether AR traits exist among GINs of deer such as Ostertagia leptospicularis and Spiculopteragia asymmetrica in pastureland where anthelmintics are heavily used. Adult-stage GIN samples were retrieved from Northern Irish wild fallow deer abomasa. Individual specimens were subject to a species-specific PCR analysis for common sheep and cattle GIN species with ITS-2 sequence analysis to validate species identities. In addition, the beta-tubulin gene was subject to sequencing to identify benzimidazole (BZ) resistance markers. ITS-2 sequencing revealed O. leptospicularis and S. asymmetrica, but species-specific PCR yielded false-positive hits for H. contortus, Teladorsagia circimcincta, Trichostrongylus axei, T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus and Ostertagia ostertagi. For beta-tubulin, O. leptospicularis and S. asymmetrica yielded species-specific sequences at the E198 codon, but no resistance markers were identified in either species at positions 167, 198 or 200 of the coding region. From this report, no GIN species of significance in livestock were identified among Northern Ireland fallow deer. However, false-positive PCR hits for sheep and cattle-associated GINs is concerning as the presence of deer species in livestock areas could impact both deer and livestock diagnostics and lead to overestimation of both GIN burden in deer and the role as of deer as drivers of these pathogens. ITS-2 sequences from both O. leptospicularis and S. asymmetrica show minor sequence variations to geographically distinct isolates. AR has been noted among GINs of deer but molecular analyses are lacking for GINs of wildlife. In producing the first beta-tubulin sequences for both O. leptospicularis and S. asymmetrica, we report no BZ resistance in this cohort. This work contributes to genetic resources for wildlife species and considers the implications of such species when performing livestock GIN diagnostics.

中文翻译：

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北爱尔兰野生小鹿中 Ostertagia leptospillaryis 和 Spiculopteragia asymma 的分子评估以及对牲畜相关物种错误检测的影响

利用牲畜放牧区的野鹿种群存在胃肠道线虫寄生虫 (GIN) 跨物种传播的风险，包括具有驱虫抗性 (AR) 特征的 GIN。在英国，野鹿已被证明携带有问题的 GIN 物种，例如捻转血矛线虫 (Haemonchus contortus) 和毛圆线虫 (Trichostrongylus) 物种，但北爱尔兰鹿群中是否存在牲畜 GIN 尚不清楚。另外，在驱虫药大量使用的牧场中，鹿的 GIN 中是否存在 AR 特征是否尚不清楚，例如 Ostertagia leptospillaryis 和 Spiculopteragia asymma。成年期杜松子酒样品取自北爱尔兰野生小鹿皱褶。对单个样本进行常见绵羊和牛 GIN 物种的物种特异性 PCR 分析，并使用 ITS-2 序列分析来验证物种身份。此外，还对 β-微管蛋白基因进行了测序，以鉴定苯并咪唑 (BZ) 抗性标记。ITS-2 测序揭示了细毛圆线虫和不对称圆线虫，但物种特异性 PCR 对 H. contortus、Teladorsagia circimcincta、Trichostrongylus axei、T. colubriformis、T. vitrinus 和 Ostertagia ostertagi 产生了假阳性结果。对于 β-微管蛋白，O. leptospillaryis 和 S. asymma 在 E198 密码子处产生了物种特异性序列，但在这两个物种中在编码区的位置 167、198 或 200 处均未鉴定出抗性标记。根据这份报告，在北爱尔兰小鹿中没有发现对牲畜具有重要意义的杜松子酒物种。然而，与羊和牛相关的 GIN 的假阳性 PCR 结果令人担忧，因为畜牧区中鹿物种的存在可能会影响鹿和牲畜的诊断，并导致高估鹿的 GIN 负担以及鹿作为司机的作用这些病原体。来自 O. leptospicaris 和 S. asymma 的 ITS-2 序列与地理上不同的分离株相比显示出较小的序列变异。鹿的 GIN 中已注意到 AR，但野生动物的 GIN 缺乏分子分析。在为 O. leptospillaryis 和 S. asymma 生产第一个 β-微管蛋白序列时，我们报告在该队列中没有 BZ 抗性。这项工作有助于野生动物物种的遗传资源，并在进行牲畜 GIN 诊断时考虑此类物种的影响。