Department of Parasitology, Institute of Bioscience, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil; Integrated Faculties of Bauru (FIB), Bauru, SP, Brazil.
Department of Parasitology, Institute of Bioscience, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil; Sagrado Coração University (USC), Department of Health Sciences, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
Infect Genet Evol. 2020 Mar;78:104053. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.104053. Epub 2019 Nov 1.
The enteric protist Blastocystis is one of the most commonly parasite reported in humans and a variety of animal hosts worldwide. Regarding genetic diversity, at least 17 subtypes (STs) have been identified in mammals and birds, with eight of them (ST1-8) infecting both humans and animals. Recently, isolates from wild mammalian species have been genetically characterized, however data is still scarce, mainly in Latin America. Here, we aimed to verify the occurrence and genetic diversity of Blastocystis in captive wild mammals kept in one zoo and in two units of protection and conservation in southeastern Brazil. A total of 78 fecal samples (14 pooled and 64 individual samples) were recovered from 102 wild mammals of 35 species included in the following orders: Primates, Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Rodentia and Marsupialia. Zoo and units staff were invited to participated but only 16 fecal samples could be screened. Based on the sequence analyses of SSUrDNA gene, out of 29 PCR products from animal samples, 51.7% (15/29) were successfully sequenced and five Blastocystis subtypes were identified as follows: ST1 (2/15; 13.3%), ST2 (2/15; 13.3%), ST3 (4/15; 26.6%), ST5 (2/15; 13.3%) and ST8 (5/14; 33.3%). Only four isolates from humans were sequenced and identified as ST1 (2 isolates), ST2 and ST3. It was observed that Blastocystis infecting non-human primates belong to ST1 and ST2 and mainly to ST3 and ST8, artiodactyls ST5, carnivores ST1 and ST5 and rodents ST1. In addition, this present study reports some interesting findings: (1) 63% (12/19) of Blastocystis isolates from animals and employees belonged to the potentially zoonotic subtypes ST1-ST3; (2) most of these isolates displayed high identity with publicly available DNA sequences from non-human primates and humans, including primate handlers; (3) Blastocystis ST5 was found infecting the northern tiger cat, a native South American felid and one of the species facing a high risk of extinction in Brazil.
肠道原生动物 Blastocystis 是全球人类和多种动物宿主中最常报告的寄生虫之一。关于遗传多样性，已在哺乳动物和鸟类中鉴定出至少 17 种亚型（ST），其中 8 种（ST1-8）同时感染人类和动物。最近，对野生哺乳动物的分离株进行了遗传特征分析，但数据仍然很少，主要在拉丁美洲。在这里，我们旨在验证巴西东南部一个动物园和两个保护和保护单位中饲养的野生动物中 Blastocystis 的发生和遗传多样性。从 35 个物种的 102 只野生动物中收集了 78 份粪便样本（14 份混合样本和 64 份个体样本），这些样本属于以下目：灵长目、食肉目、偶蹄目、食蚁兽目、啮齿目和有袋目。动物园和单位工作人员被邀请参加，但只有 16 份粪便样本可以进行筛查。基于 SSUrDNA 基因的序列分析，从动物样本的 29 个 PCR 产物中，有 51.7%（15/29）成功测序，鉴定出 5 种 Blastocystis 亚型，分别为 ST1（15/15；13.3%）、ST2（15/15；13.3%）、ST3（15/15；26.6%）、ST5（15/14；33.3%）和 ST8（15/14；33.3%）。仅从 4 名人类中测序并鉴定出 ST1（2 株）、ST2 和 ST3。观察到感染非人类灵长类动物的 Blastocystis 属于 ST1 和 ST2，主要属于 ST3 和 ST8，偶蹄目动物 ST5、食肉目动物 ST1 和 ST5 以及啮齿目动物 ST1。此外，本研究报告了一些有趣的发现：（1）来自动物和员工的 63%（12/19）的 Blastocystis 分离株属于潜在的人畜共患亚型 ST1-ST3；（2）这些分离株中的大多数与非人类灵长类动物和人类（包括灵长类动物饲养员）的公开可用 DNA 序列具有高度同一性；（3）Blastocystis ST5 感染了北方虎猫，这是一种原产于南美的猫科动物，也是巴西面临高度灭绝风险的物种之一。
