Comparative transcriptome analysis of Eimeria maxima (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) suggests DNA replication activities correlating with its fecundity

Background Chicken coccidiosis, caused by the infection of Eimeria species, leads to important economic losses to the poultry industry. Vaccination with attenuated live parasites seems to be the best way to control this disease. Attenuated eimerian parasites with shortened prepatent times show great changes in intracellular development compared to their parent strains but the mechanisms involved in these biological differences are still unclear.