Ziqi Wang, Nannan Cui, Jia Zhang, Zhixian Jiang, Ruiqi Song, Wenbo Tan, Meihua Yang, Sándor Hornok, Yuanzhi Wang
{"title":"Genetic diversity of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in 1099 wild animals and 273 imported pastured donkeys in northern China.","authors":"Ziqi Wang, Nannan Cui, Jia Zhang, Zhixian Jiang, Ruiqi Song, Wenbo Tan, Meihua Yang, Sándor Hornok, Yuanzhi Wang","doi":"10.1186/s13071-025-06739-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently detected microsporidian species in humans, wildlife and domestic animals. In northern China, to the best of our knowledge, no information on E. bieneusi infection has been reported in wild animals. The aim of the present study was to survey the occurrence of and genetically characterize E. bieneusi from a broad spectrum of vertebrate species in this region.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 1372 small intestine or fecal specimens were collected from 1019 mammals, 121 reptiles and 232 birds in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), northern China. Each animal species was identified according to morphological characteristics and amplification of mitochondrial genes. Genotype analysis of E. bieneusi was performed by amplifying the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 68 wild animal species were identified, including 34 mammal species, six reptile species and 28 bird species. The average rate of infection with E. bieneusi was 9.7% (133/1372 specimens). Twelve genotypes of E. bieneusi, including BEB6, CHG7, D, E, EbpD, horse1, MWC_d1, NCF2, NCF6, PL14, SN45 and XJHT4, were identified in specimens from XUAR, IMAR and Kyrgyzstan. Phylogenetically, these genotypes belonged to four groups, namely Group 1, Group 2, Group 12 and Group 14.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time E. bieneusi genotype NCF2 in marbled polecats (Vormela peregusna), genotype NCF6 in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), genotype D in grey wolf (Canis lupus), genotypes CHG7, horse1 and PL14 in rodents and genotypes MWC_d1, PL14 and SN45 in wild birds. The results also indicate that genotypes horse1, NCF2 and NCF6 were acquired either by the fecal-oral transmission route or during predator-prey interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"18 1","pages":"105"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11905730/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Parasites & Vectors","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06739-6","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently detected microsporidian species in humans, wildlife and domestic animals. In northern China, to the best of our knowledge, no information on E. bieneusi infection has been reported in wild animals. The aim of the present study was to survey the occurrence of and genetically characterize E. bieneusi from a broad spectrum of vertebrate species in this region.
Methods: A total of 1372 small intestine or fecal specimens were collected from 1019 mammals, 121 reptiles and 232 birds in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), northern China. Each animal species was identified according to morphological characteristics and amplification of mitochondrial genes. Genotype analysis of E. bieneusi was performed by amplifying the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.
Results: A total of 68 wild animal species were identified, including 34 mammal species, six reptile species and 28 bird species. The average rate of infection with E. bieneusi was 9.7% (133/1372 specimens). Twelve genotypes of E. bieneusi, including BEB6, CHG7, D, E, EbpD, horse1, MWC_d1, NCF2, NCF6, PL14, SN45 and XJHT4, were identified in specimens from XUAR, IMAR and Kyrgyzstan. Phylogenetically, these genotypes belonged to four groups, namely Group 1, Group 2, Group 12 and Group 14.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time E. bieneusi genotype NCF2 in marbled polecats (Vormela peregusna), genotype NCF6 in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), genotype D in grey wolf (Canis lupus), genotypes CHG7, horse1 and PL14 in rodents and genotypes MWC_d1, PL14 and SN45 in wild birds. The results also indicate that genotypes horse1, NCF2 and NCF6 were acquired either by the fecal-oral transmission route or during predator-prey interaction.
期刊介绍:
Parasites & Vectors is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal dealing with the biology of parasites, parasitic diseases, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens. Manuscripts published in this journal will be available to all worldwide, with no barriers to access, immediately following acceptance. However, authors retain the copyright of their material and may use it, or distribute it, as they wish.
Manuscripts on all aspects of the basic and applied biology of parasites, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens will be considered. In addition to the traditional and well-established areas of science in these fields, we also aim to provide a vehicle for publication of the rapidly developing resources and technology in parasite, intermediate host and vector genomics and their impacts on biological research. We are able to publish large datasets and extensive results, frequently associated with genomic and post-genomic technologies, which are not readily accommodated in traditional journals. Manuscripts addressing broader issues, for example economics, social sciences and global climate change in relation to parasites, vectors and disease control, are also welcomed.