Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi Province, 030801, People's Republic of China.
Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health of Higher Education of Yunnan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650201, People's Republic of China.
Parasitol Res. 2024 Jan 24;123(1):108. doi: 10.1007/s00436-024-08128-x.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Blastocystis may cause diarrhea in humans and various animals. However, little information is available regarding the prevalence and genetic diversity of E. bieneusi and Blastocystis in donkeys. To fill this gap, we molecularly assessed E. bieneusi and Blastocystis in fecal samples from donkeys (n = 815) in Shanxi Province, north China. The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi and Blastocystis in donkeys was 8.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Region and age were risk factors associated with E. bieneusi infection in donkeys. Three internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genotypes of E. bieneusi were identified in the current study, including two previously described genotypes (D and Henan-IV) and one novel genotype (named SXD1). Of which, genotype D was found to be the most prevalent. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the three genotypes belonged to group 1, implying a potential of zoonotic transmission. Multilocus sequence typing showed that 19, 15, 13, and 22 types were identified at the loci MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7, respectively, forming six multilocus genotypes (MLGs) distributed in the genotype D. One Blastocystis subtype (ST33) was identified, which has previously been reported only in horses. This is the first molecular-based description of E. bieneusi and Blastocystis infections in donkeys in Shanxi Province, north China, contributing to a better understanding of transmission dynamics and molecular epidemiological characteristics of the two intestinal protozoa.
肠微孢子虫和芽囊原虫可引起人类和各种动物腹泻。然而，关于驴中肠微孢子虫和芽囊原虫的流行情况和遗传多样性的信息很少。为了填补这一空白，我们对来自中国北方山西省的 815 份驴粪便样本进行了分子评估，以确定肠微孢子虫和芽囊原虫的存在。结果显示，驴中肠微孢子虫和芽囊原虫的总流行率分别为 8.1%和 0.2%。地区和年龄是与驴感染肠微孢子虫相关的风险因素。本研究共鉴定出三种肠微孢子虫的内部转录间隔区（ITS）基因型，包括两种先前描述的基因型（D 和河南-IV）和一种新型基因型（命名为 SXD1）。其中，基因型 D 最为普遍。系统进化分析表明，这三种基因型均属于组 1，表明存在潜在的人畜共患传播风险。多位点序列分型显示，在 MS1、MS3、MS4 和 MS7 位点分别鉴定出 19、15、13 和 22 种类型，形成分布在基因型 D 中的 6 种多位点基因型（MLG）。鉴定出一种芽囊原虫亚型（ST33），该亚型以前仅在马中报道过。这是首次对山西省驴中肠微孢子虫和芽囊原虫感染进行的分子描述，有助于更好地了解这两种肠道原生动物的传播动力学和分子流行病学特征。
