Sequence diversity of internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region of Eimeria infecting chicken and its relevance in species identification from Indian field samples.

Conventional method of species identification in Eimeria employs phenotypic characters of the oocysts and the site of infection in the chicken intestine, which are subjective analyses. PCR-based identification of Eimeria spp. is known to be specific and sensitive. We used internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1)-based nested PCR to follow the distribution of Eimeria spp. in the field, which may be of significant value in the management of coccidiosis in chickens. In the present study, intestinal samples of chicks from commercial poultry farms, in India, suspected of having contracted Eimeria infections were analyzed using ITS-1 PCR. The PCR-amplified ITS-1 regions were also sequenced from these samples. Of 26 field samples analyzed, 19 showed the presence of multiple infections of Eimeria spp. Incidence of Eimeria tenella (80%) was found to be highest in these samples followed by Eimeria mitis (53%), Eimeria acervulina (42%), Eimeria brunetti, and Eimeria maxima (23%). Incidence of Eimeria necatrix was found to be the lowest (15%) in the samples analyzed, while none of the samples analyzed showed the presence of ITS-1 sequence from Eimeria praecox. The ITS-1 sequences amplified from Eimeria spp. in the present study showed few variations from the ITS sequences available in the GenBank database. Further studies will be required to determine whether these differences are unique to geographical locations.

Genome sequencing data for wild and cultivated bananas, plantains and abacá.

We performed shotgun genome sequencing on a total of 19 different Musa genotypes including representatives of wild banana species Musa acuminata and M. balibisiana, allopolyploid bananas and plantains, Fe'i banana, pink banana (also known as hairy banana) and abacá (also known as hemp banana). We aligned sequence reads against a previously sequenced reference genome and assessed ploidy and, in the case of allopolyploids, the contributions of the A and B genomes; this provides important quality-assurance data about the taxonomic identities of the sequenced plant material. These data will be useful for phylogenetics, crop improvement, studies of the complex story of intergenomic recombination in AAB and ABB allotriploid bananas and plantains and can be integrated into resources such as the Banana Genome Hub.