Oliver Tendayi Zishiri

University of KwaZulu-Natal | ukzn · School of Life Sciences

This study was conducted from January to October 2018 with the objective to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity of Eimeria species in broiler and free-range chickens in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. A total of 342 faecal samples were collected from 12 randomly selected healthy broiler chicken farms and 40 free-range chickens from...

Genetic parameters for daily predicted gross feed efficiency (pGFE) and energy corrected milk (ECM) in the first three parities of South African Holstein cattle were estimated by repeatability animal models. Data comprised of 11,068 test-day milk production records of 1,575 Holstein cows that calved between 2009 and 2019. Heritability estimates for...

Direct measurement of dry matter intake (DMI) presents a major challenge in estimating gross feed efficiency (GFE) in dairy cattle. This challenge can, however, be resolved through the prediction of DMI and GFE from easy-to-measure traits such as milk production (i.e. milk yield, energy-corrected milk (ECM), butterfat, protein, lactose) and live we...

Sydney M Gambushe,1 Oliver T Zishiri,1 Mohamed E El Zowalaty2 1School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa; 2Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE 75 123, SwedenCorrespondence: Mohamed E El Z...

Genetic parameters were estimated for dry matter intake and gross feed efficiency predicted from milk components in the first three parities of South African Holstein cattle. Test-day data from the South African National Milk Recording Scheme were used to predict dry matter intake (pDMI) from milk yield. Predicted gross feed efficiency (pGFE) was t...

Direct measurement of dry matter intake (DMI) presents a major challenge in estimating gross feed efficiency (GFE) in dairy cattle. This challenge can, however, be resolved through the prediction of DMI and GFE from easy to measure traits such as milk production (i.e. milk yield, energy-corrected milk (ECM), butterfat, protein, lactose) and live we...

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Listeria innocua strain MEZLIS29, which was isolated from a healthy cow in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The genome was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform and had a length of 2,805,865 bp, with a G+C content of 37.5% and 2,783 coding DNA sequences, 58 tRNAs, 4 noncoding RNAs, a...

Improving feed utilization in dairy cattle has become increasingly important, for economic and environmental reasons. Evidence from the literature suggests that feed efficiency traits are under considerable genetic control, and thus can be genetically improved through selection. Lack of feed intake measurements, however, remains a major constraint...

A total of 3311 tick specimens were randomly collected from domestic animals including cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and dogs from Lesotho districts namely, Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing and Thaba Tseka. Tick species were identified morphologically and verified by amplificatio...

The hospital environment acts as a reservoir in the transmission of pathogens, such as MRSA, which may cause hospital-acquired infections. This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence, genetic relatedness, antibiotic resistance, and virulence profile of MRSA on some frequently touched hospital sites in South Africa. A total of 777 swabs were random...

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) hamper the growth of the livestock sector and impose major constraints for the health and management of domestic animals in the tropic and subtropical regions globally. Currently, there is no scientific report on the presence of zoonotic pathogens transmitted by tick species in Lesotho. This study aimed to identify zoonot...

Ticks are medically important and significant vectors of diseases affecting livestock, humans, and companion animals than any other arthropod vectors. In the absence of information on the relationship of tick species and piroplasms parasites in Lesotho, the current study was aimed at detecting piroplasms parasites of economic importance from ticks...

This study aimed to assess the molecular dissemination of Bacillus species in public hospitals in South Africa. The study conducted over three months during 2017 involved representative samples obtained from three wards (general ward, Intensive care unit (ICU) and paediatric unit) from four public hospitals denoted as A (Central), B (Tertiary), C (...

The bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA-DRB3) gene is an important region that codes for glycoproteins responsible for the initiation of an immune response. BoLA-DRB3 alleles have been demonstrated to be associated with disease resistance/tolerance. Therefore, great genetic diversity is correlated with better adaptation, fitness, and robustness. The cu...

Bacteria that cause life-threatening illnesses in humans are also capable of contaminating hospital surfaces, thus pose as a potential source of infection. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, genetic diversity, virulence, and antibiotic resistance profile of Klebsiella pneumoniae in South Africa. In a nonoutbreak setting involving four...

The rising trend of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by foodborne bacteria is a public health concern as these pathogens are easily transmitted to humans through the food chain. Non-typhoid Salmonella spp. is one of the leading foodborne pathogens which infect humans worldwide and is associated with food and livestock. Due to the lack of discovery of...

In recent years, diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria have profoundly impacted chicken production by causing economic loss in chicken products and by-product revenues. MBL (mannose-binding lectin) is part of the innate immune system (IIS), which is the host’s first line defense against pathogens. The IIS functions centrally by identifying pathoge...

Poultry production has gained in importance in South Africa due to its acceptability, consumption and demand across the nation. Poultry products are a major source of protein and an important means of income. This review paper assesses the current status, constraints and intervention of indigenous chickens. Since the inception of the South Africa P...

Objectives The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant livestock-associated Escherichia coli represents a great public-health concern. Here we report the draft genome sequences of two multidrug-resistant livestock-associated E. coli strains MEZEC8 and MEZEC10 isolated from sheep in South Africa. Methods Genomic DNA of E. coli strains MEZEC8 and MEZEC...

Species identification of earthworms using morphology can be challenging and inconclusive as homoplasy in many characters is high. The use of molecular DNA technology, such as the use of conserved regions in mtDNA and nuclear DNA has unravelled the phylogenetic background of several earthworm species. The current study utilised the cytochrome c oxi...

The Nguni cattle breed predominates South Africa and is endowed with traits favourable against environmental stressors such as heat stress and resistance to diseases. Interventions to improve production have led to the erosion of the genetic integrity of local breeds and the introduction of exotic breeds has proved ineffective as they fail to perfo...

Objectives Antimicrobial-resistant and livestock-associated Salmonella enterica infections pose a significant public health threat worldwide. Here, we report for the first time the draft genome sequences of two multidrug-resistant and livestock-associated S. enterica strains isolated from a chicken and a cow in South Africa. Methods Genomic DNA of...

Campylobacter species are a major cause of foodborne bacterial infections in both developed and developing countries worldwide. Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for the majority of infections. This study was conducted to identify virulence-associated genes in Campylobacter species isolated from livestock production systems in South Africa. A tot...

With the introduction of the One Health approach to global health advocated by the World Health Organization, the role of the environment as a reservoir and transmission route for diverse microorganisms is increasingly being recognised globally. This study investigated the diversity and functional profiles of bacterial communities using high-throug...

Aim To investigate the dissemination of Salmonella spp. within four levels of government hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods Salmonella identification was performed by amplification of the invA gene. Isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and molecular characterisation of eight resistance genes and three virul...

Background: Antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens associated with livestock remain a major concern worldwide as they get transmitted from animals to humans and cause foodborne and zoonotic diseases. Methods: Antimicrobial resistance in livestock-associated Salmonella spp in South Africa was investigated using molecular DNA methods. Three hund...

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Listeria innocua strain MEZLIS26, isolated from a healthy goat in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The genome was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform and had a length of 2,800,777 bp, with a G+C content of 37.4%, 2,755 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), 49 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and 4 no...

High environmental temperatures are one of the main causes of reduced productivity and reproduction in livestock. In an endeavour to counteract the effects of high temperature, a special class of proteins known as heat shock proteins function to alleviate heat stress in the cells. In this study, two regions (3′- and 5′-UTR) of the heat shock protei...

Livestock are an important source of protein and food for humans, however opportunistic pathogens such as Salmonella spp. turn livestock into vehicles of foodborne diseases. This study investigated the prevalence of virulence genes in Salmonella spp. isolated from livestock production systems in two provinces of South Africa. During the period from...

Fasciola spp. are the causative agents of fascioliasis in humans and livestock. Before the development of control and management measures, the geographical distribution of the species and patterns of infection must be considered. Because of difficulties in the phenotypic differentiation and morphometric classification of Fasciola spp., DNA molecula...

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens of humans and animals. Livestock production contributes a significant proportion to the South African Gross Domestic Product. Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine for the first time the prevalence, virulence, antibiotic and heavy metal resistance in livestock-associated S....

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen of human and other mammals that is of increasing clinical and veterinary importance due to its ability to rapidly develop antimicrobial resistance. The injudicious use of antibiotics has given rise to the emergence of antibiotic resistant S. aureus strains, most importantly methicillin-resistant St...

This study investigated the authenticity of labelling and contents of meat products from selected retail franchises, using mitochondrial species-specific DNA primers. Sixty percent of mutton sausages and 100% of chicken sausages contained undeclared beef meat. Additionally, 33.3% of beef sausages were contaminated with pork and chicken meat, while...

Enterococcus species have developed from being commensal bacteria to leading pathogens that cause infections in humans and animals. The gastrointestinal tract of mammals is the normal habitat of these species. Virulence factors are proteins that are produced by the bacterium which are used to enhance their pathogenicity. The objectives of this stud...

Virulence-associated genes have been recognised and detected in Campylobacter species. The majority of them have been proven to be associated with pathogenicity. This study aimed to detect the presence of virulence genes associated with pathogenicity and responsible for invasion, expression of adherence, colonisation and production of the cytoletha...

Four new species of Kazimierzus are described from the Western Cape and Northern Cape, South Africa: K. kleinoodi sp. n., K. nietvoorbiji sp. n., K. nieuwoudtvillensis sp. n., and K. phumlani sp. n. Kazimierzus kleinoodi is distinguished from the other species of this genus by the position of the calciferous glands in 9 and paired spermathecae in f...

Campylobacter spp. are common pathogenic bacteria in both veterinary and human medicine. Infections caused by Campylobacter spp. are usually treated using antibiotics. However, the injudicious use of antibiotics has been proven to spearhead the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The purpose of this study was to detect the prevalence of antibiotic...

Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in human and veterinary medicine is a serious worldwide problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of S. aureus in commercial broiler chickens as well as to establish antimicrobial susceptibility and the distribution of genetic determinants conferring resistance and virulence....

A review of the genus Kazimierzus Plisko, 2006, based on available type material enriched by study of selected specimens from the earthworm collection gathered at the NMSA and literature, revealed that the species presently accredited to this genus are characterized by unique features and clearly differ from the species of the other genera endorsed...

The freshwater snail Bulinus globosus is an important intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium, the causative agent of urinary schistosomiasis. This disease is of major health concern, especially in Africa where the majority of cases have been reported. In this study the inter- and intra-genetic diversity and population genetic structure of B....

Salmonellosis is a significant public health concern around the world. The injudicious use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production for treatment, growth promotion and prophylaxis has resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Salmonella. The current study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of virulence and antimicrobial r...

Salmonellosis is a significant public health concern around the world. The injudicious use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production for treatment, growth promotion and prophylaxis has resulted in the emergence of drug resistant strains of Salmonella. The current study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of virulence and antimicrobial r...

Breed improvement in the Dorper sheep breed is based mainly on subjective assessment in the show ring. Information is limited about the genetic relationships between subjectively assessed and objectively measured traits in the breed. In an effort to establish genetic parameters as well as relationships amongst these traits, this study was conducted...

Genetic trends were constructed to monitor the genetic change for subjectively assessed and objectively measured traits using data emanating from complete records from the National Small Stock Improvement Scheme database and performance records accumulated by a single breeder over a period of 24 years. The objectively measured production traits con...

Breed improvement in the Dorper sheep breed is based on subjectively assessed traits as determined in the show ring. Little information is available about the genetic relationships between these visually assessed traits and objectively measured growth traits in the breed. Against this background, genetic analyses were conducted to determine the mag...

Poor fertility has become a major reason for the involuntary culling of dairy cows in South Africa. Routine analyses for fertility traits for Holstein cows in South Africa are at present based on calving interval (CI). Artificial insemination (AI) records were used to estimate genetic parameters for fertility traits for dairy cows in this study, us...

Genetic trends were constructed for early growth traits in the Dormer and Ile de France terminal sire sheep breeds. The traits that were considered were birth weight, pre-weaning weight, weaning weight and post-weaning weight. However, pre-weaning weights were only available for the Ile de France breed and post-weaning weights were only available f...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Fluctuations and a general decline in the ratio between wool and meat prices resulted in marked changes in the South African sheep industry. Commercial producers now exploit other mechanisms such as terminal crossbreeding of Merino-type with meat type breeds or dual-purpose breeds to attain short-term benefits resulting from price...