PCR-based differentiation of three porcine Eimeria species and Isospora suis

Isospora suis and Eimeria are frequent coccidian parasites of pigs. The unsporulated oocysts of Eimeria species and of I. suis are difficult to differentiate. Therefore, a species-specific PCR was developed. PCR products were amplified from Eimeria polita, Eimeria porci, and Eimeria scabra using primers from the conserved 18S rRNA regions and were subsequently sequenced. Based on variable sequence regions, primers were constructed for the differentiation of the three Eimeria species and I. suis. Using a combination of PCRs detecting one or two species, all four coccidian species were detected (theoretical lower detection level: DNA content of 250 oocysts of each Eimeria species or 25 oocysts of Isospora in 1microl) and differentiated. The PCR-based differentiation of the above mentioned species provides a useful alternative to microscopy.