Isolation and genetic characterization of Neospora caninum from asymptomatic calves in Spain

Neospora caninum is a cyst-forming parasite that causes abortion in cattle. Despite this parasite's ubiquitous distribution and wide host range, the number of N. caninum isolates obtained to date is limited. In vitro isolation of the parasite is arduous and often unsuccessful. In addition, most isolates have been obtained from clinically affected hosts and therefore could be biased towards more virulent isolates. In this report, an improved isolation approach from transplacentally infected newborn calves was undertaken and 9 new isolates were obtained. Moreover, a microsatellite technique was applied to investigate the genetic diversity of these isolates. Most isolates showed specific genetic profiles. However, the Nc-Spain10 isolate was identical to the previously described Nc-Spain1H isolate and Nc-Spain3H was identical to Nc-Spain4H. These isolates were likely to have identical genotypes because they were isolated from distinct calves of the same herd. Future pathogenic characterization of these isolates will contribute to the investigation of the relationship between isolate virulence and the outcome of infection, as well as other epidemiological features, such as transmission.