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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1521055

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in endangered Eld's deer (Rucervus eldii) in Hainan, China

Provisionally accepted
Yun Zhang Yun Zhang 1Guangxu Ren Guangxu Ren 1,2Qingqing Lu Qingqing Lu 1Jiaqi Li Jiaqi Li 1,3Yu Qiang Yu Qiang 1Youyou Li Youyou Li 1Xiuyi Lai Xiuyi Lai 1Yuan Wang Yuan Wang 1Xingyue Yu Xingyue Yu 1Sheng Lei Sheng Lei 1Yu Li Yu Li 3Yunxing Chang Yunxing Chang 4Xianrong Liu Xianrong Liu 4Xuning Qi Xuning Qi 5Zhi Xie Zhi Xie 5Tingting Li Tingting Li 1Jiang Du Jiang Du 1Rui Duan Rui Duan 1Xinyu Chang Xinyu Chang 1Hesheng Wang Hesheng Wang 4Gang Lu Gang Lu 1*
  • 1 School of Basic Medicine and Life Sciences, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
  • 2 Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 3 the 928th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Force, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
  • 4 Hainan Bangxi Provincial Nature Reserve Administration, Baisha, China
  • 5 Bawangling Branch of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration, Changjiang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Enterocytozoon bieneusi is one of the most frequent microsporidia species causing digestive disorder mainly diarrhea in humans and animals. Eld's deer (Rucervus eldii) is the class I national key protected wildlife and only distributed on Hainan Island in China. No report on the prevalence and molecular characterization of E. bieneusi in wild Eld's deer worldwide. 217 fecal samples were collected from Eld's deer in two isolated habitats of a nature reserve in Hainan, and examined by nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in Eld's deer was 17.5% (38/217), with 13.5% (12/89) and 20.3% (26/128) in habitats 1 and 2, respectively. Seven ITS genotypes were identified, including five known genotypes: D (n=19), Peru11 (n=10), EbpC (n=5), Peru8 (n=1) and Type IV (n=1), and two novel genotypes: HNED-I and HNED-II (one each). Genotypes Peru8 and Peru11 were firstly identified in cervids. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all the detected genotypes belonged to zoonotic Group 1. The results implied that the further research on threaten of E. bieneusi to endangered Eld's deer and potential risks for public health is necessary.

    Keywords: Eld's deer, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Prevalence, Genotype, Hainan Island

    Received: 01 Nov 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ren, Lu, Li, Qiang, Li, Lai, Wang, Yu, Lei, Li, Chang, Liu, Qi, Xie, Li, Du, Duan, Chang, Wang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Gang Lu, School of Basic Medicine and Life Sciences, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China

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