Dataset Information

Molecular identification and subtyping of Blastocystis sp. in laboratory rats in China.

ABSTRACT: Blastocystis sp. is a ubiquitous protist that has been frequently reported in humans and animals worldwide. A total of 355 fecal samples of experimental rats were collected from four laboratory rearing facilities in China, and Blastocystis sp. was detected by PCR amplification of the partial small subunit ribosomal (SSU) rRNA gene. Twenty-nine (8.2%, 29/355) samples were positive for Blastocystis sp., with the highest infection rate (20.7%, 24/116) in rats of the Zhengzhou1, followed by that in the Zhengzhou2 (5.0%, 2/40), Shenyang (3.0%, 3/100) and Wuhan (0) rearing facilities. Among the three rat strains, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats had higher infection rates (11.3%, 17/151) compared to Wistar rats (8.7%, 9/104) and spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats (3.0%, 3/100). Two Blastocystis sp. subtypes (ST4 and ST7) were identified. ST4 was the predominant subtype detected in 26 samples (89.7%). A phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the sequences of ST4 and ST7 obtained in this study were clustered with their reference subtypes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Blastocystis sp. in experimental rats in China. Pathogen infections in laboratory animals need to be monitored due to fecal-oral transmission.

SUBMITTER: Li J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7227369 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular identification and subtyping of Blastocystis sp. in laboratory rats in China.

Li Junqiang J Yuan Yueyue Y Jiang Yuxi Y Wang Wen W Chao Liqin L Sun Ruiqin R Li Jun J Karim Md Robiul MR Qi Meng M

Parasite (Paris, France) 20200515

Blastocystis sp. is a ubiquitous protist that has been frequently reported in humans and animals worldwide. A total of 355 fecal samples of experimental rats were collected from four laboratory rearing facilities in China, and Blastocystis sp. was detected by PCR amplification of the partial small subunit ribosomal (SSU) rRNA gene. Twenty-nine (8.2%, 29/355) samples were positive for Blastocystis sp., with the highest infection rate (20.7%, 24/116) in rats of the Zhengzhou1, followed by that in ...[more]

PMID: 32410727

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Blastocystis sp. is a common intestinal protist that infects humans and many animals globally. Thus far, 22 subtypes (STs) have been identified in mammalian and avian hosts. Since various STs are common to humans and animals, it was suggested that some human infections might arise from zoonotic transmission. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the presence of Blastocystis sp. in domestic (dogs and cats) and synanthropic animals (rats) of Fars Province, Iran, and to genetically characterize the samples. METHODS:A total of 400 fresh faecal samples from 154 dogs, 119 cats, and 127 rats were inspected by direct microscopy, Wheatley's trichrome staining, in vitro culture, and 18S rRNA gene nested-PCR. Finally, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed. RESULTS:Out of 400 samples, 47 (11.8%) and 61 (15.3%) samples were detected as positive by direct wet mount and culture, respectively. Molecular analysis detected a larger number of positive samples (n?=?70, 17.5%): nested-PCR showed that 29 (18.8%) dogs, 21 (17.7%) cats, and 20 (15.8%) rats were infected by Blastocystis sp. Sequence analysis of positive samples indicated the presence of zoonotic STs in all investigated host species. Specifically, ST2 (allele 9), ST3 (allele 34), ST4 (allele 94), ST7 (allele 99), ST8 (allele 21), and ST10 (allele 152) were detected in dogs; ST1 (allele 2), ST3 (allele 34), ST4 (allele 94), ST10 (allele 152), and ST14 (allele 159) were detected in cats; and ST1 (allele 2), ST3 (allele 34), and ST4 (allele 92) were detected in rats. CONCLUSIONS:Our data suggest that domestic dogs and cats can serve as possible reservoirs for in-contact humans, especially those who handle shelter-resident and client-owned animals. Moreover, rats as synanthropic animals can function as a potential source of human infections. Conversely, humans can act as a source of infections to animals. These results should be reinforced in future molecular epidemiological studies.

Project description:BackgroundBlastocystis is a common anaerobic colonic protist in humans with controversial pathogenicity. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the commonest cause of infectious diarrhea in healthcare settings. The prevalence and subtype (ST) characteristics of Blastocystis in patients with C. difficile infection (CDI) are rarely documented. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and subtype characteristics of Blastocystis in patients with suspicion of CDI in Singapore.MethodsFecal samples were collected from 248 patients presenting with suspected CDI from a single tertiary hospital in Singapore. C. difficile was diagnosed through positive glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) with or without toxin A/B using enzyme immunoassay methods. The prevalence and subtype genetic characteristics of Blastocystis were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and analysis of the barcode region of the SSU rRNA gene.ResultsThe proportion of C. difficile in patients with healthcare-associated diarrhea in this study was 44% (109/248). Among the 109 C. difficile-positive patients, 59 (54.1%, 59/109) tested positive for toxigenic C. difficile, which was considered CDI. Based on the sequence analyses of the barcode region of the SSU rRNA gene, 10.1% (25/248) of the patients were found to be Blastocystis-positive, and three subtypes were identified: ST7 (64%, 16/25), ST1 (20%, 5/25), and ST3 (16%, 4/25). Remarkably, we found five patients with Blastocystis and C. difficile coinfection, and further subtype analysis showed two with ST7, two with ST1, and one with ST3.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the subtype distributions of Blastocystis in patients with CDI in Singapore. We found ST7 to be the predominant subtype in diarrheal patients. The pathogenicity of ST7 has been strongly suggested in previous in vitro and mouse model experiments, further confirming its potential pathogenicity to humans.

Dataset Information

Molecular identification and subtyping of Blastocystis sp. in laboratory rats in China.

Publications

Molecular identification and subtyping of Blastocystis sp. in laboratory rats in China.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets