Abstract
Giardia duodenalis is a major gastrointestinal parasite found globally in both humans and animals. This work examined the occurrence of G. duodenalis in coypus (Myocastor coypus) in China. Multi-locus analysis was conducted to evaluate the level of genetic variation and the potential zoonotic role of the isolates. In total, 308 fecal samples were collected from seven farms in China and subjected to PCR screening to reveal G. duodenalis. Notably, G. duodenalis was detected in 38 (12.3%) specimens from assemblages A (n = 2) and B (n = 36). Positive samples were further characterized by PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the triose phosphate isomerase (tpi), beta giardin (bg), and glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) genes. Multi-locus genotyping yielded 10 novel multi-locus genotypes (MLGs) (one MLG and nine MLGs for assemblages A and B, respectively). Based on the generated phylogenetic tree, AI–novel 1 clustered more closely with MLG AI-2. Furthermore, within the assemblage B phylogenetic analysis, the novel assemblage B MLGs were identified as BIV and clustered in the MLG BIV branch. This is the first report of G. duodenalis in coypus in China. The presence of zoonotic genotypes and subtypes of G. duodenalis in coypus suggests that these animals can transmit human giardiasis.
Highlights
G. duodenalis is very commonly found in humans and domestic animals, as revealed by numerous prevalence studies across the globe [7,10,14]
The molecular epidemiology of G. duodenalis has been widely studied in livestock, which revealed its transmission dynamics and zoonotic significance in these animals
The parasite has not been extensively investigated in rodents; very little knowledge on the distribution, genetic diversity, and zoonotic potential of Giardia spp. in these animal hosts has been published [6,7,15,16]
Summary
Based on the above data, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 ranked Giardia 11th of 24 food-borne parasites [4]. The current wide use of genotyping tools has immensely improved our understanding of G. duodenalis transmission in humans and animals [5,6]. Total create a multi-locus genotyping (MLG) tool for subtyping assemblages A, B, and E and to explore the population genetic characterizations of G. duodenalis [6,8]. Limited information has been provided on the infection rate and genotype characteristics in rodents in China. The present study aimed to explore the distribution and genetic diversity of G. duodenalis in coypus in China and assess its zoonotic potential based on MLG analysis
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