Molecular characterizations of Giardia duodenalis based on multilocus genotyping in sheep, goats, and beef cattle in Southwest Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

Giardia duodenalis is an important zoonotic parasite that causes economic losses to animal husbandry and threatens public health. In the present study, a total of 1466 fresh fecal samples were collected from sheep (n = 797), goats (n = 561) and beef cattle (n = 108) in Southwest Inner Mongolia, China. Giardia duodenalis was initially screened via nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the β-giardin (bg) gene, and bg-positive samples were subjected to PCR amplification targeting the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) genes. A total of 4.0% of samples (58/1466) were positive for G. duodenalis, with a prevalence of 3.4% in sheep, 3.7% in goats and 5.2% in beef cattle. Three G. duodenalis assemblages (A, B, and E) were identified, with E as the prevalent assemblage. Four and one novel assemblage E sequences were obtained for the gdh and tpi loci, respectively and four assemblage E multilocus genotypes (MLG) were obtained. This study demonstrates high genetic variations in G. duodenalis assemblage E, and provides baseline data for preventing and controlling G. duodenalis infection in livestock in Inner Mongolia.

Occurrence and genetic characteristics of Giardia duodenalis in donkeys in Xinjiang, China

“…The infection rate of Giardia in donkeys varies greatly in different regions of China, but the sample size in some regions is small [ 11 , 24 ]; further research is still needed. Many factors could cause differences in infection rates, such as detection methods, season, region, sampling time, and sample sizes [ 7 ].…”

“…In this study, the Giardia infection rate in large-scale farm donkeys was significantly higher than that in domestic donkeys. There is a lack of studies on the relationship between the prevalence of Giardia infection and feeding patterns in donkeys; previous reports have shown that the prevalence of Giardia infection is not related to feeding pattern in sheep [ 7 ]. At present, studies of Giardia in donkeys are still limited around the world.…”

“…Interestingly, assemblage E was found only in young and large-scale farm donkeys, suggesting that infection with assemblage E in donkeys may be associated with age and feeding pattern. In China, assemblages A and B of Giardia are common in humans, livestock, companion animals, wild animals, nonhuman primates, and even in wastewater, suggesting that interspecies transmission of Giardia may be common in China [ 7 , 12 , 17 , 21 ].…”

Molecular epidemiology and multilocus genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in individuals attending major public hospitals in Shiraz, southwestern Iran: A public health concern

“…While, assemblages C—H are typically found in dogs and other canids (C, D), hoofed livestock (E), cats (F), rodents (G), and marine mammals (H) ( Asghari et al, 2023 ; Zajaczkowski et al, 2021 ). Nevertheless, recent evidence suggests that livestock-only circulating assemblages (i.e., E) may also infect humans, suggesting some assemblages have less strict host-specificity, potentially enabling transmission from non-human mammals to humans ( Dixon, 2021 ; Fu et al, 2022 ). An allozyme examination specified four sub-assemblages within assemblages A and B (AI–AIV and BI–BIV), of which AI, AII, BIII, and BIV have been particularly recognized in humans.…”

Molecular epidemiology and multilocus genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in individuals attending major public hospitals in Shiraz, southwestern Iran: A public health concern

“…While, assemblages C-H are typically found in dogs and other canids (C, D), hoofed livestock (E), cats (F), rodents (G), and marine mammals (H) [9,10]. Nevertheless, recent evidence suggests that livestock-only circulating assemblages (i.e., E) may also infect humans, suggesting some assemblages have less strict host-speci city, potentially enabling transmission from non-human mammals to humans [11,12]. An allozyme examination speci ed four sub-assemblages within assemblages A and B (AI-AIV and BI-BIV), of which AI, AII, BIII, and BIV have been particularly recognized in humans.…”