Molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis sp. in dogs housed in Italian rescue shelters

Gazzonis, Alessia Libera; Marangi, Marianna; Zanzani, Sergio Aurelio; Villa, Luca; Giangaspero, Annunziata; Manfredi, Maria Teresa

doi:10.1007/s00436-019-06424-5

Protozoology - Original Paper
Published: 15 August 2019

Molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis sp. in dogs housed in Italian rescue shelters

Alessia Libera Gazzonis ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4293-0719¹,
Marianna Marangi²,
Sergio Aurelio Zanzani¹,
Luca Villa¹,
Annunziata Giangaspero² &
Maria Teresa Manfredi¹

Parasitology Research volume 118, pages 3011–3017 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Blastocystis is a ubiquitous protozoan with a wide range of hosts. In humans, its presence has been associated with gastrointestinal disorders, although its role as a pathogen still needs to be elucidated. Until now, 17 Blastocystis subtypes (STs) have been identified, with ST1–ST4 the most commonly found in humans. Among domestic animals, the same STs reported in humans have been detected in dogs. An epidemiological survey on dog kennels was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of Blastocystis and the STs involved. Overall, 99 faecal samples were collected from the rescue shelters. Blastocystis detection was performed through conventional barcoding PCR targeting the 1800-bp SSU-rDNA, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Blastocystis DNA was found in 21 faecal samples (21.2%), and all samples were successfully sequenced and identified as ST3 in a unique monophyletic group. The presence of Blastocystis was reported for the first time in dogs from Italy, with the identification of ST3, the subtype most commonly found in humans.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to the shelters’ personnel and volunteers for their help in the sample collection.

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Affiliations

Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Alessia Libera Gazzonis, Sergio Aurelio Zanzani, Luca Villa & Maria Teresa Manfredi
Department of Science of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
Marianna Marangi & Annunziata Giangaspero

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Alessia Libera Gazzonis
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Marianna Marangi
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Sergio Aurelio Zanzani
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Luca Villa
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Annunziata Giangaspero
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Maria Teresa Manfredi
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Correspondence to Alessia Libera Gazzonis.

Ethics declarations

The collection of biological samples from live animals was performed in the respect of animal welfare according to current legislation. The study was conducted with the approval of each of the involved shelter and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Università degli Studi di Milano (Permission OPBA_34_2017).

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Gazzonis, A.L., Marangi, M., Zanzani, S.A. et al. Molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis sp. in dogs housed in Italian rescue shelters. Parasitol Res 118, 3011–3017 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06424-5

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Received: 19 February 2019
Accepted: 07 August 2019
Published: 15 August 2019
Issue Date: October 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06424-5

Keywords

Blastocystis
Subtypes
Dog
Zoonosis
Molecular epidemiology
Genotyping