Abstract
To examine the occurrence and genotype distribution of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in cervids, 615 fecal samples were collected from red deer (Cervus elaphus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon) on 10 different farms in Henan and Jilin Province. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was identified and genotyped with a nested PCR analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA genes, showing an average infection rate of 35.9% (221/615). In this study, 25 ITS genotypes were identified including seven known genotypes (BEB6, EbpC, EbpA, D, HLJDI, HLJD-IV, and COS-I) and 18 novel genotypes (designated JLD-I to JLD-XIV, HND-I to HND-IV). Among these, BEB6 (131/221, 59.3%) was the predominant genotype (P < 0.01), followed by HLJDI (18/221, 8.1%) and JLD-VIII (16/221, 7.2%). BEB6 has recently been detected in humans and nonhuman primates in China. The phylogenetic analysis showed that BEB6, HLJDI, HLJD-IV, COS-I, and 10 novel genotypes (JLD-VII to JLD-XIV, HND-III to HND-IV) clustered in group 2. Genotype D, EbpC, and EbpA, known to cause human microsporidiosis worldwide, clustered in group 1, the members of which have zoonotic potential, together with eight novel genotypes (JLD-I to JLD-VI, HND-I to HND-II). Therefore, deer may play a role in the transmission of E. bieneusi to humans.
Highlights
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an obligate intracellular Fungi that infects a wide range of hosts, including humans, nonhuman primates, pigs, cattle, horses, llamas, kudus, dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, otters, ermines, bears, deer, guinea pigs, beavers, rabbits, muskrats, falcons, snakes, wild rodents, and other birds, as well as environmental samples (Santín and Fayer, 2011; Guo et al, 2014; Karim et al, 2014b,c; Zhao et al, 2014; Corradi, 2015; Zhang et al, 2015)
These results are consistent with those published from Maryland, USA, in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (32.5%) (Santin and Fayer, 2015), and from Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces, China, in sika deer and red deer (31.9%) (Zhao et al, 2014); and Henan Province, China, in Pere David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) (34.0%) (Zhang et al, 2015), but in contrast with those from New York, USA, in white-tailed deer (12.2%) (Guo et al, 2014), and from Jilin Province, China, in sika deer (7.1%) (Zhang et al, 2016)
The infection rates in different studies are affected by many factors, including age distributions, specimen sizes, management systems, population density, health status of the hosts, and the sensitivity and specificity of the detection methods used, so it is difficult to explain the actual discrepancies in the prevalence of E. bieneusi
Summary
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an obligate intracellular Fungi that infects a wide range of hosts, including humans, nonhuman primates, pigs, cattle, horses, llamas, kudus, dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, otters, ermines, bears, deer, guinea pigs, beavers, rabbits, muskrats, falcons, snakes, wild rodents, and other birds, as well as environmental samples (Santín and Fayer, 2011; Guo et al, 2014; Karim et al, 2014b,c; Zhao et al, 2014; Corradi, 2015; Zhang et al, 2015). All E. bieneusi ITS genotypes were divided into at least nine distinct genetic clusters (groups 1–8 and the outlier in dogs) (Karim et al, 2015). Group 1, known as the zoonotic group, is responsible for most human E. bieneusi infections, and contains the vast majority of genotypes from various animal hosts (Fayer and Santin-Duran, 2014). Groups 2–8 and the outlier consist of genotypes that are hostadapted or found in wastewater (Guo et al, 2014; Karim et al, 2014b)
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