Metabarcoding reveals low prevalence of microsporidian infections in castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Microsporidia is a large group of eukaryotic obligate intracellular spore-forming parasites, of which 17 species can cause microsporidiosis in humans. Most human-infecting microsporidians belong to the genera Enterocytozoon and Encephalitozoon. To date, only five microsporidian species, including Encephalitozoon-like, have been found in hard ticks (Ixodidae) using microscopic methods, but no sequence data are available for them. Furthermore, no widespread screening for microsporidian-infected ticks based on DNA analysis has been carried out to date. Thus, in this study, we applied a recently developed DNA metabarcoding method for efficient microsporidian DNA identification to assess the role of ticks as potential vectors of microsporidian species causing diseases in huma

SUBMITTER: Trzebny A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8760655 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature