Abstract:
Blastocystis is a common microeukaryotic intestinal parasite in humans and other animal hosts globally. However, no large-scale longitudinal study has ever been conducted for Blastocystis. To understand patterns of infection prevalence and subtype diversity and their relationship with host age, we have conducted the most comprehensive longitudinal study of Blastocystis infection ever performed. Dairy calves from a herd located in Maryland, USA, were followed from birth through 24 months of age, and 990 individual fecal samples from 30 calves were collected over the study period, representing three age groups (pre-weaned, post-weaned, and heifer). All samples were screened for Blastocystis via PCR, and subtype determination was performed using next-generation amplicon sequencing. Associations between age group and infection status were assessed using logistic regression analyses. Blastocystis infection prevalence increased with time, significant associations were observed between age groups and infection risk, and a cumulative prevalence of 100% was observed among the study population during the 24-month period. Thirteen previously reported subtypes (ST1-6, ST10, ST14, ST21, ST23-26) and one potentially novel subtype were observed. Diversity within ST10 supports the need for division of the subtype into new subtype designations. Associations between subtype and age group were explored, and relationships between subtypes and infection chronicity are described. While subtype diversity increased with age in the study population, distinct patterns of individual subtype prevalence and chronicity were observed, supporting the importance of subtype discrimination in studies of host infection and disease. The data from this study represent a significant advance in our understanding of Blastocystis infection dynamics within a single host population over time and can be used to inform future studies of Blastocystis epidemiology in both humans and other animal hosts.
摘要:
囊胚是人类和全球其他动物宿主中常见的微真核肠道寄生虫。然而,从未对胚泡进行过大规模的纵向研究.了解感染流行和亚型多样性的模式及其与宿主年龄的关系,我们进行了有史以来最全面的囊胚感染纵向研究.来自马里兰州一群牛群的奶牛,美国,从出生到24个月大,在研究期间收集了30头小牛的990份粪便样本,代表三个年龄组(断奶前,断奶后,和小母牛)。通过PCR筛选所有样品的囊胚,使用下一代扩增子测序进行亚型测定。使用逻辑回归分析评估年龄组与感染状态之间的关联。囊胚感染患病率随时间增加,观察到年龄组与感染风险之间存在显着关联,在24个月期间,研究人群的累积患病率为100%.观察到了13种先前报道的亚型(ST1-6,ST10,ST14,ST21,ST23-26)和一种潜在的新型亚型。ST10内的多样性支持将亚型划分为新的亚型名称的需要。探讨了亚型和年龄组之间的关联,并描述了亚型与感染慢性之间的关系。虽然研究人群的亚型多样性随着年龄的增长而增加,观察到个体亚型患病率和慢性的不同模式,支持亚型区分在宿主感染和疾病研究中的重要性。这项研究的数据代表了我们对单个宿主种群内芽囊原虫感染动态的理解的显着进步,可用于将来研究人类和其他动物宿主的芽囊原虫流行病学。