Abstract
Coccidiosis is a protozoan disease that is characterized by diffuse diarrhea, dehydration, emaciation accompanied by moderate morbidity and mild mortality in animals and birds. The current study targeted the molecular characterization of
Eimeria
isolates in captive deer from different localities in Lahore. The host species was the
Cervidae
family, such as Hog deer (
Axis porcinus
) and Punjab urial (
Ovis aries vignei
). The
Eimeria crandallis
was isolated from zoo animals. The DNA was extracted from oocysts and amplified by using reported oligonucleotide primers that exhibited the 809 bp product. These were analyzed by using the small subunit 18S rRNA gene-based evolutionary relationship with 36 other
Eimeria
species reported in caprine, cervinae, bovines, avians, and rodents. Light microscopic examination exhibited 3.29% (7/213)
Eimeria
-positive fecal samples with morphological features, including sub-spherical forms, the presence of micropyle with polar cap, and oocysts diameters (μm) ranging from 24.32 ± 1.61 to 18.94 ± 1.51. The phylogenetic tree constitutes four distinct clusters with relatively higher values. The evolutionary network showed that sequences were clustered in the monophyletic group of
Eimeria
species reported in caprine and cervinae. The nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarity matrix analysis exhibited 99.5–99.9% identity of the study isolates with
Eimeria crandallis
(AF336339). This study provides relevant baseline data to develop strategic control measures for coccidiosis in zoo animals. However, further investigations are required to place the hog deer and Punjab urial-derived
E. crandallis
into the caprine-originated cluster.