Zhong Zhijun, Tian Yinan, Song Yuan, Deng Lei, Li Junxian, Ren Zhihua, Ma Xiaoping, Gu Xiaobin, He Changliang, Geng Yi, Peng Guangneng
Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China.
Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
PLoS One. 2017 Aug 14;12(8):e0183249. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183249. eCollection 2017.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common pathogen of microsporidian species infecting humans worldwide. Although E. bieneusi has been found in a variety of animal hosts, information on the presence of E. bieneusi in captive kangaroos in China is limited. The present study was aimed at determining the occurrence and genetic diversity of E. bieneusi in captive kangaroos. A total of 61 fecal specimens (38 from red kangaroos and 23 from grey kangaroos) were collected from Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo and Hongshan Kangaroo Breeding Research Base, Jiangsu province, China. Using the nested PCR amplification ITS gene of rRNA of E. bieneusi, totally 23.0% (14/61) of tested samples were PCR-positive with three genotypes (i.e. one known genotype, CHK1, and two novel genotypes, CSK1 and CSK2). Multi-locus sequence typing using three microsatellites (MS1, MS3, and MS7) and one minisatellite (MS4) revealed one, five, two, and one types at these four loci, respectively. In phylogenetic analysis, the two genotypes, CHK1 and CSK1, were clustered into a new group of unknown zoonotic potential, and the novel genotype CSK2 was clustered into a separate clade with PtEb and PtEbIX. To date, this is the first report on the presence of E. bieneusi in captive red kangaroos in Jiangsu province, China. Furthermore, a high degree of genetic diversity was observed in the E. bieneusi genotype and seven MLGs (MLG1-7) were found in red kangaroos. Our findings suggest that infected kangaroo may act as potential reservoirs of E. bieneusi and be source to transmit infections to other animal.
肠脑炎微孢子虫是全球范围内感染人类的最常见微孢子虫病原体。尽管已在多种动物宿主中发现了肠脑炎微孢子虫，但关于中国圈养袋鼠中肠脑炎微孢子虫存在情况的信息有限。本研究旨在确定圈养袋鼠中肠脑炎微孢子虫的发生率和遗传多样性。从中国江苏省南京红山森林动物园和红山袋鼠繁育研究基地共采集了61份粪便标本（38份来自红袋鼠，23份来自灰袋鼠）。使用巢式PCR扩增肠脑炎微孢子虫rRNA的ITS基因，共有23.0%（14/61）的检测样本PCR呈阳性，鉴定出三种基因型（即一种已知基因型CHK1和两种新基因型CSK1和CSK2）。使用三个微卫星（MS1、MS3和MS7）和一个小卫星（MS4）进行多位点序列分型，结果显示在这四个位点分别有1种、5种、2种和1种类型。在系统发育分析中，CHK1和CSK1这两种基因型聚类为一个人畜共患病潜力未知的新组，新基因型CSK2与PtEb和PtEbIX聚类为一个单独的进化枝。迄今为止，这是关于中国江苏省圈养红袋鼠中存在肠脑炎微孢子虫的首次报道。此外，在肠脑炎微孢子虫基因型中观察到高度的遗传多样性，并且在红袋鼠中发现了7个多位点基因型（MLG1 - 7）。我们的研究结果表明，受感染的袋鼠可能是肠脑炎微孢子虫的潜在宿主，并可能将感染传播给其他动物。
