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Occurrence and genetic characterization of Giardia duodenalis from captive nonhuman primates by multi-locus sequence analysis

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Abstract

Giardia is the most common enteric protozoan that can be pathogenic to both humans and animals. Transmission can be direct through the faecal–oral route, or through ingestion of contaminated water or food. Genetic characterization of Giardia duodenalis isolates has demonstrated the existence of seven groups (assemblages A to G) which differ in their host distribution. Assemblages A and B are present in humans and other primates, dogs, cats, rodents, and other species of wild mammals, but the role of the different host animals in the epidemiology of human infection remains unclear. With this preliminary data, we can infer that nonhuman primates (NHP) might be a potential reservoir for zoonotic transmission. This research paper discusses the presence of Giardia in nonhuman primates housed in two Spanish zoological gardens (located in Valencia and Madrid). Twenty faecal samples obtained from 16 different species of NHP were studied; 70% were positives to Giardia, and genetic analyses were performed by sequencing of four genes (SSrRNA, glutamate dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase, and beta-giardin). The assemblage A was the most frequent (63.4%) in the species studied. A sequence from a red ruffed lemur (corresponding to genotype AI) was obtained, and this is the first reported sequence of a gdh gene obtained from this species. The multi-locus sequence analysis was also performed on the samples positive to nested PCR belonging to assemblage B. After amplification using the GDHeF, GDHiF, and GDHiR gdh primers; AL3543, AL3546, AL3544, and AL3545 tpi primers; G7, G759, GBF, and GBR bg primers, amplicons of 432, 500, and 511 bp respectively were obtained. Amplification products were sequenced and the sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that genotype IV like was the most frequent in the samples belonging to this assemblage.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Grants: AGL2007-62435/GAN and CGL2006-04343/BOS. The authors wish to thank veterinarians Eva Martínez from the zoo aquarium of Madrid, Miguel Casares, Cati Gerique, and Loles Carbonell from Bioparc Valencia, for their kindly help in collecting faecal samples from their respective centers. We also thank Dr. Blanca Simmons for language advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Salud Pública y Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Arzobispo Morcillo S/N, 28029, Madrid, Spain

    Rafael Alberto Martínez-Díaz

  2. Departamento de Producción Animal, Sanidad Animal y Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Avenida Seminario S/N Moncada, 46113, Valencia, Spain

    José Sansano-Maestre & María del Carmen Martínez-Herrero

  3. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza de Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Ponce-Gordo

  4. Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    María Teresa Gómez-Muñoz

Authors
  1. Rafael Alberto Martínez-Díaz
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  2. José Sansano-Maestre
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  3. María del Carmen Martínez-Herrero
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  4. Francisco Ponce-Gordo
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  5. María Teresa Gómez-Muñoz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Alberto Martínez-Díaz.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Online Resource 1

Intra-subassemblage substitutions for glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene from assemblage A. Positions are numbered from the beginning of the reference sequence from GenBank (M84604) (DOC 43 kb)

Online Resource 2

Intra-subassemblage substitutions for glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), triose phosphate isomerase (tpi), and beta-giardin (bg) genes from assemblage B. Positions are numbered from the beginning of the reference sequences from GenBank (AY178756 for gdh, AY368163 for tpi, and AY072726 for bg) (DOC 277 kb)

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Martínez-Díaz, R.A., Sansano-Maestre, J., Martínez-Herrero, M. et al. Occurrence and genetic characterization of Giardia duodenalis from captive nonhuman primates by multi-locus sequence analysis. Parasitol Res 109, 539–544 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2281-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2281-z

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