Date of Graduation

12-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Poultry Science (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Poultry Science

Advisor/Mentor

Danielle Graham

Committee Member

Billy Hargis

Second Committee Member

Guillermo Tellez-Isaias

Third Committee Member

Juan David Latorre

Fourth Committee Member

Christine N. Vuong

Keywords

Anticoccidial sensitivity testing, Coccidiosis, Eimeria, Microbiome, Turkey, Vaccination

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to determine the anticoccidial profile of Eimeria spp. derived from wild turkeys. These drug-sensitive Eimeria spp. have potential to be used as vaccine candidates to control coccidiosis in commercial turkeys. Chapter two consists of a brief literature review focused on coccidiosis in turkeys. Chapter three addresses the methodologies utilized to isolate, recover, and speciate Eimeria recovered from wild turkey feces in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. From this, we successfully obtained single oocyst-derived stocks for E. meleagrimitis, E. dispersa, E. meleagridis, E. gallopavonis, and E. adenoeides. Chapter four describes the experiment conducted to assess the protective efficacy of an E. meleagrimitis vaccine candidate isolated from wild turkeys with and without intermittent amprolium administration. Additionally, the impact of vaccination and/or challenge and a candidate bioshuttle program on gut permeability and the microbiome was evaluated. The E. meleagrimitis vaccine candidate induced mild disease without affecting performance. Future research must be conducted to elucidate the impact of amprolium with and without single or multi-species live coccidiosis vaccination on the microbiome and gut barrier function in turkey poults.

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