Li Na, Liu Xiangming, Dan Xiaoyu, Li Jiayu, Xu Rui, Xiao Lihua, Feng Yaoyu, Guo Yaqiong
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2025 Sep;64:101334. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101334. Epub 2025 Aug 21.
Dogs and cats are important reservoirs for the zoonotic pathogen Enterocytozoon bieneusi. In this study, fecal samples from 682 dogs and 424 cats in Guangdong Province, China, were examined for E. bieneusi by PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the rRNA gene. The overall infection rate was 31.5 % in dogs and 3.5 % in cats. Significantly higher infection rates were observed in dogs >6 months (31.0 %, 137/442, χ = 33.168, P = 0.000), female dogs (35.0 %, 114/326, χ = 22.669, P = 0.000), purebred dogs (29.7 %, 140/471, χ = 24.464, P = 0.000), dogs from the research center and shelters (52.3 %, 116/222, P = 0.000; 50.7 %, 71/140, P = 0.000). The genotypes detected in dogs included canine-adapted PtEb IX (n = 212) and WW8 (n = 2), and zoonotic Type IV (n = 1). In cats, Type IV was dominant (n = 12), followed by D (n = 2) and PtEb IX (n = 1). The genetic diversity in Type IV and D samples were further assessed by multilocus sequence typing at four microsatellite/minisatellite loci. Twelve multilocus genotypes (MLGs) were identified, suggesting inconsistent genotyping results among the loci. Population genetic analysis of the MLG data generated in this study and those from other hosts in previous studies revealed three distinct subpopulations. Subpopulation 1 and Subpopulation 3 contained E. bieneusi from monkeys and fur animals, respectively. In contrast, Subpopulation 2 contained E. bieneusi from humans and cats. This suggests that E. bieneusi in cats and in humans is genetically related and has the potential for zoonotic transmission.
犬类和猫类是人畜共患病原体微小隐孢子虫的重要宿主。在本研究中，对中国广东省682只犬和424只猫的粪便样本进行了检测，通过针对核糖体RNA基因内部转录间隔区（ITS）的PCR检测微小隐孢子虫。犬类的总体感染率为31.5%，猫类为3.5%。6个月以上的犬类感染率显著更高（31.0%，137/442，χ = 33.168，P = 0.000），雌性犬类（35.0%，114/326，χ = 22.669，P = 0.000），纯种犬类（29.7%，140/471，χ = 24.464，P = 0.000），来自研究中心和收容所的犬类（52.3%，116/222，P = 0.000；50.7%，71/140，P = 0.000）。在犬类中检测到的基因型包括适应犬类的PtEb IX（n = 212）和WW8（n = 2），以及人畜共患的IV型（n = 1）。在猫类中，IV型占主导（n = 12），其次是D型（n = 2）和PtEb IX型（n = 1）。通过对四个微卫星/小卫星位点进行多位点序列分型，进一步评估了IV型和D型样本的遗传多样性。鉴定出了12种多位点基因型（MLG），表明各基因座之间的基因分型结果不一致。对本研究中产生的MLG数据以及先前研究中其他宿主的数据进行群体遗传分析，揭示了三个不同的亚群。亚群1和亚群3分别包含来自猴子和毛皮动物的微小隐孢子虫。相比之下，亚群2包含来自人类和猫的微小隐孢子虫。这表明猫和人类中的微小隐孢子虫在遗传上相关，具有人畜共患传播的潜力。
