A summary of Blastocystis subtypes in North and South America

Paula Andrea Jiménez,Jesús Eduardo Jaimes,Juan David Ramírez

doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3641-2

Paula Andrea Jiménez, Jesús Eduardo Jaimes + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3641-2

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Journal: Parasites & Vectors	Publication Date: Jul 29, 2019
Citations: 98	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Universidad del Rosario

Abstract

BackgroundBlastocystis is a stramenopile of worldwide significance due to its capacity to colonize several hosts. Based on its high level of genetic diversity, Blastocystis is classified into global ribosomal subtypes (STs). The aim of this study was to conduct a summary of Blastocystis STs and depict their distribution throughout North and South America; we did this by assembling maps and identifying its most common 18S alleles based on diverse studies that had been reported all over the continent and whose Blastocystis-positive samples were obtained from numerous hosts.ResultsThirty-nine articles relating to nine countries from the American continent were considered, revealing that ST1 (33.3%), ST2 (21.9%), ST3 (37.9%), ST4 (1.7%), ST5 (0.4%), ST6 (1.2%), ST7 (1%), ST8 (0.7%), ST9 (0.4%), ST12 (0.3%), Novel ST (1.1%) and Mixed STs (0.2%) occurred in humans. The STs in other animal hosts were ST1 (6.5%), ST2 (6.5%), ST3 (4.7%), ST4 (7.2%), ST5 (15.9%), ST6 (17.3%), ST7 (3.6%), ST8 (20.6%), ST10 (9%), ST14 (3.6%), ST17 (1.1%) and Novel ST (4%). The countries that presented the most abundant variety of studies reporting STs were the USA with 14 STs, Brazil with 9 STs and Colombia with 8 STs. Additionally, new variants had been described in the last few years, which have increased the prevalence of these subtypes in the countries studied, such as Novel ST (1.1%) and Mixed STs (0.2%) in humans and Novel ST (4%) in animals.ConclusionsThis summary updates the epidemiological situation on the distribution of Blastocystis STs in North and South America and will augment current knowledge on the prevalence and genetic diversity of this protozoan.

Highlights

Blastocystis is a stramenopile of worldwide significance due to its capacity to colonize several hosts
Considering the above information, this review found that STs 1 to 9 were present in the samples from the North and South American countries that have studied and typed Blastocystis
In recent years, a variety of molecular epidemiological studies have been conducted on Blastocystis to identify its subtypes in the different countries from North and South America, but there is still too little data to elucidate the circulating subtypes and ribosomal alleles in these regions

Summary

Introduction

Blastocystis is a stramenopile of worldwide significance due to its capacity to colonize several hosts. Based on its high level of genetic diversity, Blastocystis is classified into global ribosomal subtypes (STs). Several studies have described the genetic diversity present in Blastocystis, which has led to its classification as having multiple subtypes (STs) in its different lineages, based on polymorphic regions of its small subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene [4]. Some of these STs are found in different hosts, but others are exclusively in humans [5]. More than one ST can reportedly colonize humans, and infections with mixed STs have been reported [10]

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