Couso-Pérez Seila, Pardavila Xosé, Carro Francisco, Ares-Mazás Elvira, Gómez-Couso Hipólito
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain; Nanotechnology and Integrated BioEngineering Centre, School of Engineering, Ulster University, Belfast Campus, 2-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AP, United Kingdom.
Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Avenida Américo Vespucio s/n 41001, Sevilla, Spain.
Parasitol Int. 2023 Jun;94:102740. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2023.102740. Epub 2023 Feb 18.
This work reports for the first time the presence and molecular characterization of Eimeria myoxi in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) from the Doñana Natural Area (Andalusia, SW Spain). Fresh faecal samples were collected from a total of 28 garden dormice, which were caught following current guidelines for the ethical use of animals in research, and processing by a standard flotation technique with saturated saline solution. Then, wet drops were examined microscopically, and the number of oocysts was semi-quantified. Eimeria oocysts were observed in 16 of the 28 (57.1%) faecal samples, showing most of them a very low number of oocysts (≤1 oocyst per microscopic field × 400). The unsporulated oocysts visualized in 16 faecal samples were subspherical and of length 19.2 ± 1.2 μm and width 17.4 ± 1.1 μm, being morphologically compatible with E. myoxi. This finding was supported by molecular analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU-rRNA) gene, identifying the same species in 22 of the 28 (78.6%) dormice, including 15 samples in which oocyst size was compatible with E. myoxi. Moreover, the subsequent analyses of the apicoplast open reading frame 470 (ORF470) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) genes confirmed the molecular identification of the isolates as E. myoxi. The phylogeny analyses were consistent with previous phylogenetic studies and support the existence of three lineages of rodent-infecting Eimeria species.
这项研究首次报告了来自多尼亚纳自然保护区（西班牙西南部安达卢西亚）的花园睡鼠（Eliomys quercinus）体内存在艾美耳球虫（Eimeria myoxi）及其分子特征。从总共28只花园睡鼠身上采集新鲜粪便样本，这些睡鼠是按照当前研究中动物伦理使用指南捕获的，并采用饱和盐溶液标准浮选技术进行处理。然后，对湿滴进行显微镜检查，并对卵囊数量进行半定量。在28份粪便样本中的16份（57.1%）中观察到艾美耳球虫卵囊，其中大多数样本的卵囊数量非常少（每400倍显微镜视野≤1个卵囊）。在16份粪便样本中观察到的未孢子化卵囊呈亚球形，长度为19.2±1.2μm，宽度为17.4±1.1μm，形态上与艾美耳球虫相符。这一发现得到了小亚基核糖体RNA（SSU-rRNA）基因分子分析的支持，在28只睡鼠中的22只（78.6%）中鉴定出相同的物种，其中15份样本的卵囊大小与艾美耳球虫相符。此外，随后对顶质体开放阅读框470（ORF470）和线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I（COI）基因的分析证实了分离株在分子水平上鉴定为艾美耳球虫。系统发育分析与先前的系统发育研究一致，并支持存在感染啮齿动物的艾美耳球虫物种的三个谱系。
