Abstract
BackgroundEnterocytozoon bieneusi, a microsporidian species, is a zoonotic pathogen found in both humans and animals. Here, we determined the prevalence, explored the different genotypes of E. bieneusi in wild rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) (Hainan Island of China), and assessed their zoonotic potential.MethodsWe collected 173 fecal specimens from wild rhesus macaques living in Nanwan Monkey Island, Hainan, China. Subsequently, we identified and genotyped E. bieneusi using nested PCR analysis amplification of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the rRNA gene. Lastly, a neighbor-joining tree was built based on gene sequences from the ITS region of E. bieneusi.ResultsOf the 173 specimens from wild rhesus macaques, 26 (15%) were infected with E. bieneusi. We identified six genotypes of E. bieneusi, of which five were known: PigEBITS7 (n = 20), D (n = 2), Type IV (n = 1), Peru6 (n = 1), Henan-III (n = 1), and a novel genotype: HNM-IX (n = 1). From the phylogenetic analysis, the six genotypes identified here were all clustered into zoonotic group 1.ConclusionThis study is the first report to detect E. bieneusi infection in wild rhesus macaques from Hainan, China. Human-pathogenic genotypes D, Henan-III, Peru6, PigEbITS7, and Type IV in the wild rhesus macaques support these animals infected with E. bieneusi have a public health significance.
Highlights
Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a microsporidian species, is a zoonotic pathogen found in both humans and animals
Infection rates of E. bieneusi in wild M. mulatta Twenty-six of 173 specimens from wild rhesus macaques were positive for E. bieneusi since they amplified the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene, with an average infection rate of 15.0%
Genotype distribution of E. bieneusi by gender and age Six genotypes were identified in the wild rhesus macaques through sequencing and multiple sequence alignment
Summary
Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a microsporidian species, is a zoonotic pathogen found in both humans and animals. Most human infections result from the zoonotic transmission of spores through either contaminated food or water [4]. Scientists have detected approximately 600 E. bieneusi ITS genotypes [6] Among these genotypes, 49 were found in both animals and humans [3]. E. bieneusi is commonly detected in various wildlife and a wide variety of both potentially host-adapted and zoonotic genotypes have been identified [3, 8]. The primary focus of epidemiological surveys should involve the genotyping of E. bieneusi isolates from under-sampled animal hosts with human contact to expand our knowledge regarding human microsporidiosis epidemiology and support E. bieneusi population analysis
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