Li Jiayu, Yang Fuxian, Liang Ruobing, Guo Sheng, Guo Yaqiong, Li Na, Feng Yaoyu, Xiao Lihua
Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Pathogens. 2021 Jan 20;10(2):89. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10020089.
Cryptosporidium felis is an important cause of feline and human cryptosporidiosis. However, the transmission of this pathogen between humans and cats remains controversial, partially due to a lack of genetic characterization of isolates from cats. The present study was conducted to examine the genetic diversity of C. felis in cats in China and to assess their potential zoonotic transmission. A newly developed subtyping tool based on a sequence analysis of the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene was employed to identify the subtypes of 30 cat-derived C. felis isolates from Guangdong and Shanghai. Altogether, 20 C. felis isolates were successfully subtyped. The results of the sequence alignment showed a high genetic diversity, with 13 novel subtypes and 2 known subtypes of the XIXa subtype family being identified. The known subtypes were previously detected in humans, while some of the subtypes formed well-supported subclusters with human-derived subtypes from other countries in a phylogenetic analysis of the gp60 sequences. The results of this study confirmed the high genetic diversity of the XIXa subtype family of C. felis. The common occurrence of this subtype family in both humans and cats suggests that there could be cross-species transmission of C. felis.
猫隐孢子虫是猫和人隐孢子虫病的重要病因。然而，这种病原体在人和猫之间的传播仍存在争议，部分原因是缺乏对猫源分离株的基因特征分析。本研究旨在检测中国猫中猫隐孢子虫的遗传多样性，并评估其潜在的人畜共患传播风险。采用一种基于60 kDa糖蛋白（gp60）基因序列分析新开发的分型工具，对来自广东和上海的30株猫源猫隐孢子虫分离株进行亚型鉴定。共成功鉴定出20株猫隐孢子虫分离株的亚型。序列比对结果显示出高度的遗传多样性，共鉴定出13个新亚型和2个已知的XIXa亚型家族亚型。已知亚型先前在人类中被检测到，并且在gp60序列的系统发育分析中，一些亚型与来自其他国家的人源亚型形成了支持度良好的亚簇。本研究结果证实了猫隐孢子虫XIXa亚型家族的高度遗传多样性。该亚型家族在人和猫中均普遍存在，提示猫隐孢子虫可能存在跨物种传播。
