Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2022 Nov 4;15(1):408. doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05533-y.
Parasitic nematodes, including large roundworms colloquially known as ascarids, affect the health and well-being of livestock animals worldwide. The equine ascarids, Parascaris spp., are important parasites of juvenile horses and the first ascarids to develop widespread anthelmintic resistance. The microbiota has been shown to be an important factor in the fitness of many organisms, including parasitic nematodes, where endosymbiotic Wolbachia have been exploited for treatment of filariasis in humans.
This study used short-read 16S rRNA sequences and Illumina sequencing to characterize and compare microbiota of whole worm small intestinal stages and microbiota of male and female intestines and gonads. Diversity metrics including alpha and beta diversity, and the differential abundance analyses DESeq2, ANCOM-BC, corncob, and metagenomeSeq were used for comparisons.
Alpha and beta diversity of whole worm microbiota did not differ significantly between groups, but Simpson alpha diversity was significantly different between female intestine (FI) and male gonad (MG) (P= 0.0018), and Shannon alpha diversity was significantly different between female and male gonads (P = 0.0130), FI and horse jejunum (HJ) (P = 0.0383), and FI and MG (P= 0.0001). Beta diversity (Fig. 2B) was significantly different between female and male gonads (P = 0.0006), male intestine (MI) and FG (P = 0.0093), and MG and FI (P = 0.0041). When comparing organs, Veillonella was differentially abundant for DESeq2 and ANCOM-BC (p < 0.0001), corncob (P = 0.0008), and metagenomeSeq (P = 0.0118), and Sarcina was differentially abundant across four methods (P < 0.0001). Finally, the microbiota of all individual Parascaris spp. specimens were compared to establish shared microbiota between groups.
Overall, this study provided important information regarding the Parascaris spp. microbiota and provides a first step towards determining whether the microbiota may be a viable target for future parasite control options.
寄生虫线虫，包括俗称蛔虫的大型圆形线虫，影响全球家畜动物的健康和福利。马蛔虫，即 Parascaris spp.，是幼马的重要寄生虫，也是最早出现广泛驱虫剂耐药性的蛔虫。微生物组已被证明是许多生物体（包括寄生虫线虫）适应性的重要因素，其中共生的沃尔巴克氏体已被用于治疗人类的丝虫病。
本研究使用短读 16S rRNA 序列和 Illumina 测序来描述和比较整个蠕虫小肠阶段以及雄性和雌性肠道和性腺的微生物组。使用多样性度量，包括 alpha 和 beta 多样性，以及差异丰度分析 DESeq2、ANCOM-BC、corncob 和 metagenomeSeq 进行比较。
整个蠕虫微生物组的 alpha 和 beta 多样性在组间没有显著差异，但 Simpson alpha 多样性在雌性肠道 (FI) 和雄性性腺 (MG) 之间存在显著差异（P=0.0018），Shannon alpha 多样性在雌性和雄性性腺之间存在显著差异（P=0.0130），FI 和马空肠 (HJ)（P=0.0383），以及 FI 和 MG（P=0.0001）。β多样性（图 2B）在雌性和雄性性腺之间存在显著差异（P=0.0006），在雄性肠道 (MI) 和 FG 之间（P=0.0093），以及在 MG 和 FI 之间（P=0.0041）。当比较器官时，韦荣球菌在 DESeq2 和 ANCOM-BC（p<0.0001）、corncob（P=0.0008）和 metagenomeSeq（P=0.0118）方面差异丰富，而 Sarcina 在四种方法中均有差异（p<0.0001）。最后，比较了所有单个 Parascaris spp. 标本的微生物组，以确定组间是否存在共享微生物组。
总的来说，本研究提供了有关 Parascaris spp. 微生物组的重要信息，并为确定微生物组是否可能成为未来寄生虫控制选择的可行目标迈出了第一步。
