RT Journal Article
T1 Assessing the efficacy of the ovicidal fungus Mucor circinelloides in reducing coccidia parasitism in peacocks
A1 Lozano, João
A1 Almeida, Cristina
A1 Vicente, Eduardo
A1 Sebastião, Daniela
A1 Palomero Salinero, Antonio Miguel
A1 Cazapal Monteiro, Cristiana Filipa
A1 Arias Vázquez, María Sol
A1 Oliveira, Manuela
A1 Carvalho, Luis Madeira de
A1 Paz Silva, Adolfo
K1 Peacocks
K1 Coccidia
K1 Predatory fungi
K1 Mucor circinelloides
K1 Mini-FLOTAC
K1 Portugal
AB 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.
PB Nature Research
SN 2045-2322
YR 2024
FD 2024-05-31
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38917
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38917
LA eng
NO Lozano, J., Almeida, C., Vicente, E. et al. Assessing the efficacy of the ovicidal fungus Mucor circinelloides in reducing coccidia parasitism in peacocks. Sci Rep 14, 11352 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61816-7
NO This work was supported by the CIISA/FMV Project UIDB/00276/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020—AL4AnimalS (both funded by FCT), and by the Projects PID2020-120208RB-I00 (MCINN, Spain; FEDER) and ED431B 2021/07 (funded by Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidades, Xunta de Galicia). Additionally, João Lozano holds the PhD Research Fellowship 2020.09037.BD (funded by FCT). The authors would like to acknowledge the Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases (CIISA-FMV, Lisbon, Portugal), Laboratory of Microbiology and Immunology (CIISA-FMV, Lisbon, Portugal), and the COPAR research group (Faculty of Veterinary, USC, Lugo, Spain), and their leaders, Professors Doctors Isabel Fonseca, Luís Tavares, and Adolfo Paz-Silva, for all the support provided during this research.
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026