Assessing the efficacy of the ovicidal fungus Mucor circinelloides in reducing coccidia parasitism in peacocks

Abstract

The biological control of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites using predatory fungi has been recently proposed as an accurate and sustainable approach in birds. The current study aimed to assess for the first time the efficacy of using the native ovicidal fungus Mucor circinelloides (FMV-FR1) in reducing coccidia parasitism in peacocks. For this purpose, an in vivo trial was designed in the resident peacock collection (n = 58 birds) of the São Jorge Castle, at Lisbon, Portugal. These animals presented an initial severe infection by coccidia of the genus Eimeria (20106 ± 8034 oocysts per gram of feces, OPG), and thus received commercial feed enriched with a M. circinelloides suspension (1.01 × 108 spores/kg feed), thrice-weekly. Fresh feces were collected every 15 days to calculate the coccidia shedding, using the Mini-FLOTAC technique. The same bird flock served simultaneously as control (t0 days) and test groups (t15–t90 days). The average Eimeria sp. shedding in peacocks decreased up to 92% following fungal administrations, with significant reduction efficacies of 78% (p = 0.004) and 92% (p = 0.012) after 45 and 60 days, respectively. Results from this study suggest that the administration of M. circinelloides spores to birds is an accurate solution to reduce their coccidia parasitism.