Abstract
Blastocystis is the most common protozoan colonizing the gut of vertebrates. It modulates the human digestive microbiota in the absence of inflammation and gastrointestinal disease. Although it has been associated with human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, its pathogenicity remains controversial. This study aimed to assess the influence of Blastocystis on the gut bacterial communities in healthy children. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 147 Blastocystis-colonized and 149 Blastocystis-noncolonized Malian children, with Blastocystis colonization assessed by real-time PCR and gut microbial communities characterized via 16S rRNA gene (Illumina MiSeq) sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. The gut microbiota diversity was higher in Blastocystis-colonized compared to Blastocystis-noncolonized children. The phyla Firmicutes, Elusimicrobia, Lentisphaerae, and Euryarchaeota were higher in Blastocystis-colonized children, whereas Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, unassigned bacteria, and Deinococcus–Thermus were higher in Blastocystis-noncolonized children. Moreover, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (family Ruminococcaceae) and Roseburia sp. (family Lachnospiraceae) abundance was higher in Blastocystis-colonized children. We conclude that Blastocystis colonization is significantly associated with a higher diversity of the gut bacterial communities in healthy children, while it is not associated with the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the human gut.
Highlights
Blastocystis is a genus of unicellular protozoan of the stramenopile group in the eukaryotic domain, described in 1911 by Alexeieff [1]
The results showed that the phyla Firmicutes, Elusimicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Euryarchaeota, and IHU_PP_Bacteria were significantly more abundant in the Blastocystis-colonized group than Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, unassigned bacteria, and Deinococcus–Thermus, which were overrepresented in the Blastocystis-noncolonized children (Supplementary file 2: Figure S5A)
A study evaluating the influence of Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba spp., and Blastocystis hominis infections on the structure of bacterial communities in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects in Côte d’Ivoire found that the Faecalibacterium prausnitzii/Escherichia coli ratio increased in the subjects carrying Entamoeba spp. and Blastocystis hominis compared to those with no enteric protozoan [39]
Summary
Blastocystis is a genus of unicellular protozoan of the stramenopile group in the eukaryotic domain, described in 1911 by Alexeieff [1]. Many types of Blastocystis live in anaerobic conditions within the gut of humans as well as that of various animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects [2]. Blastocystis is the most common parasite of the human gut; its prevalence ranges from 0.5% in Japan to 60% in Malaysia [3], 24% in Denmark and the Netherlands, and 7% in Italy and the United Kingdom [5]. Blastocystis is present in both asymptomatic and symptomatic hosts; its implication in human diseases remains controversial. It has been associated with gastrointestinal or dermatological symptoms [7,8,9]. Whether Blastocystis is a pathogen or a commensal of the human gut remains an open question
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