AUTHOR=Xu Ming , Hu Yang , Qiu Hongyu , Wang Jingyuan , Jiang Jiafu 

TITLE=Colpodella sp. (Phylum Apicomplexa) Identified in Horses Shed Light on Its Potential Transmission and Zoonotic Pathogenicity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.857752

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.857752

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Colpodella</italic> species, which mainly feed on protists and algae, are free-living close relatives of apicomplexans. Recent reports have identified <italic>Colpodella</italic> sp. infections in an immunocompromised individual and a suspected case of tick-transmitted infection resulting in neurological symptoms. Our molecular examination of piroplasmosis-infected horses in China identified nearly whole 18S rRNA gene sequences that are closely related to <italic>Colpodella</italic> sp. ATCC 50594 isolated from brown woodland soil at Gambrill State Park, located in Frederick, MD, shedding light on an underreported emerging zoonotic pathogen.</p>