Characterization of Microneme-2 (EtMIC-2) Gene of Eimeria tenella Guangdong Strain

Micronemes are secretary organelles of the invasive stages of all Apicomplascan parasites, and their proteins are crucial for parasite motility, adhesion and host cell invasion. The gene encoding the Microneme-2 protein (EtMIC-2) was isolated from oocysts of the GuangDong strain of Eimeria tenella by RT- PCR of extracted RNA using EtMIC-2 primers designed from a published sequence of the gene. The sequence of the EtMIC-2 gene from the GuangDong strain, Houghton and Beijing strains revealed high homology (99.6 and 99.7% respectively), indicating a limited allelic polymorphism within Eimeria tenella strains for MIC-2 gene. As far as deduced amino acids sequence is concerned, however, there was a difference of only two amino acids between the GuangDong strain and any of the other two strains.