AUTHOR=Wang Jiayan , Wang Yiqing , Huang Wenwen , Zhang Ting , Yu Kuai , Chen Jiani , Zhou Liyuting , Cao Wenjie , Xu Junchen , Ma Jianshe , Huang Huicong , Zhao Wei 

TITLE=Molecular prevalence, subtype distribution, and zoonotic potential of Blastocystis sp. in wild rodents and shrews inhabiting Zhejiang province of China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1427490

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2024.1427490

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Globally, rodents and shrew populations constitute crucial elements of diverse environments and animal communities. It is imperative to study their population dynamics to mitigate any potential negative impact on humans, as they can be involved in the transmission of critical zoonotic agents, such as <italic>Blastocystis</italic>. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the prevalence and genetic composition of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> in wild rodents and shrews residing in the Zhejiang provinces of China.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 652 wild rodents and and shrews were captured from three different regions in Zhejiang Province from April 1st to October 31, 2023. The DNA was isolated by collecting fresh feces from the intestines of each rodent or and shrew. Rodent and shrew species were examined by vertebrate cytochrome b (<italic>cytb</italic>) analysis and PCR amplification. <italic>Blastocystis</italic> was also found in all fecal samples using PCR analysis and sequencing of the partial small subunit of ribosomal RNA (<italic>SSU rRNA</italic>) gene.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Among all the samples, 6.6% (43/652) showed a positive result for <italic>Blastocystis</italic>. In the results, 6 species of rodent and shrew were identified with <italic>Blastocystis</italic>, including <italic>Apodemus agrarius</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 36) (2.8%), <italic>Niviventer confucianus</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 75) (17.3%), <italic>Rattus losea</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 18) (5.6%), <italic>R. norvegicus</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 155) (2.6%), <italic>R. tanezumi</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 86) (3.5%), and <italic>Suncus murinus</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 282) (7.4%). The existence of 6 <italic>Blastocystis</italic> subtypes, ST4 (<italic>n</italic> = 33), ST1 (4), ST7 (<italic>n</italic> = 3), ST2 (<italic>n</italic> = 1), ST3 (<italic>n</italic> = 1), and ST5 (<italic>n</italic> = 1), were confirmed by sequence analysis.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Discussion</title><p>Based on the molecular data obtained, the wild rodents and shrews under investigation were found to be concurrently infected with zoonotic subtypes of <italic>Blastocystis</italic>, including ST1 to ST5 and ST7. This suggests that these animals could potentially pose a zoonotic threat to humans and other animals susceptible to <italic>Blastocystis</italic> infection.</p></sec>