PREVALENCE AND DNA BARCODING OF GASTRO INTESTINAL HELMINTHS IN Gallus domesticus FROM HIGH LAND REGIONS OF KOLLAM DISTRICT, KERALA

Parasitic helminthes in birds can lead to decreased production of Gallus domestica. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence and analyse the DNA bar coding of parasite helminths in gastrointestinal tract of Gallus domesticus from highland regions of Kollam District. The study lasted for a period of eight months (from October 2017 to May 2018). For this study, 160 indigenous chicken’s gastrointestinal tract of the birds were collected from freshly slaughtered birds from local poultry shops, markets, and household in the rural areas of the highland regions of Kollam District. The highest prevalence of parasite helminths of 65% was noted in the month of April and lowest prevalence of 40% in October. Based on the DNA bar coding of the samples, the parasitic phylogeny study was analysed. The nucleotide sequence data was analysed by the pair wise alignment tool blast N, the hits were compared based on the query coverage and percentage of identity. The major helminths parasites found in Gallus domesticus were Ascaridia spp, Syngamous trachea spp, Raillietina spp.