Emma L. Betts
Exploring Micro-Eukaryotic Diversity in the Gut: Co-occurrence of Blastocystis Subtypes and Other Protists in Zoo Animals
Betts, Emma L.; Gentekaki, Eleni; Tsaousis, Anastasios D.
Authors
Eleni Gentekaki
Anastasios D. Tsaousis
Abstract
Blastocystis is a genetically diverse microbial eukaryote thriving in the gut of humans and other animals. While Blastocystis has been linked with gastrointestinal disorders, its pathogenicity remains controversial. Previous reports have suggested that one out of six humans could be carrying Blastocystis in their gut, while the numbers could be even higher in animals. Most studies on Blastocystis are either exclusively targeting the organism itself and/or the associated prokaryotic microbiome, while co-occurrence of other microbial eukaryotes has been mainly ignored. Herein, we aimed to explore presence and genetic diversity of Blastocystis along with the commonly occurring eukaryotes Cryptosporidium, Eimeria, Entamoeba and Giardia in the gut of asymptomatic animals from two conservation parks in the United Kingdom. Building upon a previous study, a total of 231 fecal samples were collected from 38 vertebrates, which included 12 carnivorous and 26 non-carnivorous species. None of the animals examined herein showed gastrointestinal symptoms. The barcoding region of the small subunit ribosomal RNA was used for subtyping of Blastocystis. Overall, 47% of animal species were positive for Blastocystis. Twenty six percent of samples carried more than one subtypes, including the newly identified hosts Scottish wildcat, bongo and lynx. Fifty three percent of samples carried at least another microbial eukaryote. Herewith, we discuss potential implications of these findings and the increasingly blurred definition of microbial parasites.
Citation
Betts, E. L., Gentekaki, E., & Tsaousis, A. D. (2020). Exploring Micro-Eukaryotic Diversity in the Gut: Co-occurrence of Blastocystis Subtypes and Other Protists in Zoo Animals. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, Article 288. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00288
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 10, 2020 |
Online Publication Date | Feb 25, 2020 |
Publication Date | Feb 25, 2020 |
Deposit Date | Jun 9, 2021 |
Publicly Available Date | Jun 9, 2021 |
Journal | Frontiers in Microbiology |
Electronic ISSN | 1664-302X |
Publisher | Frontiers Media |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 11 |
Article Number | 288 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00288 |
Keywords | Blastocystis, genetic diversity, subtyping, co-occurrence, phylogeny, micro-eukaryome |
Public URL | http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2779257 |
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Exploring Micro-Eukaryotic Diversity In The Gut: Co-occurrence Of Blastocystis Subtypes And Other Protists In Zoo Animals
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Copyright Statement
© 2020 Betts, Gentekaki and Tsaousis. 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) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
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