Epidemiology, Species Composition and Genetic Diversity of Tetra- and Octonucleated Entamoeba Spp. in Different Brazilian Biomes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Epidemiology, Species Composition and Genetic Diversity of Tetra- and Octonucleated Entamoeba Spp. in Different Brazilian Biomes Calegar et al. Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:160 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04672-y Parasites & Vectors RESEARCH Open Access Epidemiology, species composition and genetic diversity of tetra- and octonucleated Entamoeba spp. in diferent Brazilian biomes Deiviane Aparecida Calegar1* , Kerla Joeline Lima Monteiro2, Polyanna Araújo Alves Bacelar1,2, Brenda Bulsara Costa Evangelista1,2, Mayron Morais Almeida1, Jéssica Pereira dos Santos1,2, Márcio Neves Boia3, Beatriz Coronato‑Nunes1,4, Lauren Hubert Jaeger1,5† and Filipe Anibal Carvalho‑Costa1† Abstract Background: Entamoeba species harbored by humans have diferent degrees of pathogenicity. The present study explores the intra‑ and interspecifc diversity, phylogenetic relationships, prevalence and distribution of tetra‑ and octonucleated cyst‑producing Entamoeba in diferent Brazilian regions. Methods: Cross‑sectional studies were performed to collect fecal samples (n 1728) and sociodemographic data in communities located in four Brazilian biomes: Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado,= and Amazon. Fecal samples were subjected to molecular analysis by partial small subunit ribosomal DNA sequencing (SSU rDNA) and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Light microscopy analysis revealed that tetranucleated cysts were found in all the studied biomes. The highest positivity rates were observed in the age group 6–10 years (23.21%). For octonucleated cysts, positivity rates ranged from 1 to 55.1%. Sixty SSU rDNA Entamoeba sequences were obtained, and four diferent species were identifed: the octonucleated E. coli, and the tetranucleated E. histolytica, E. dispar, and E. hartmanni. Novel haplotypes (n 32) were characterized; however, new ribosomal lineages were not identifed. The Entamoeba coli ST1 subtype predominated= in Atlantic Forest and Caatinga, and the ST2 subtype was predominant in the Amazon biome. E. histol- ytica was detected only in the Amazon biome. In phylogenetic trees, sequences were grouped in two groups, the frst containing uni‑ and tetranucleated and the second containing uni‑ and octonucleated cyst‑producing Entamoeba species. Molecular diversity indexes revealed a high interspecifc diversity for tetra‑ and octonucleated Entamoeba spp. (H SD 0.9625 0.0126). The intraspecifc diversity varied according to species or subtype: E. dispar and E. histo- lytica showed± = lower diversity± than E. coli subtypes ST1 and ST2 and E. hartmanni. Conclusions: Tetra‑ and octonucleated cyst‑producing Entamoeba are endemic in the studied communities; E. histolytica was found in a low proportion and only in the Amazon biome. With regard to E. coli, subtype ST2 was *Correspondence: [email protected] †Lauren Hubert Jaeger and Filipe Anibal Carvalho‑Costa contributed equally to this work 1 Laboratório de Epidemiologia e Sistemática Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ publi cdoma in/ zero/1. 0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Calegar et al. Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:160 Page 2 of 13 predominant in the Amazon biome. The molecular epidemiology of Entamoeba spp. is a feld to be further explored and provides information with important implications for public health. Keywords: Entamoeba genus, Molecular epidemiology, Small subunit ribosomal DNA, Intra‑ and interspecifc diversity Background communities. Similarly, peri-urban and urban communi- Entamoeba species harbored by the human digestive ties in large Brazilian cities in more industrialized states tract have diferent degrees of pathogenicity and impact frequently have poor sanitation infrastructure. In the on public health [1]. Although some species are consid- present study, we explored the species composition, the ered commensal and non-pathogenic, E. histolytica can inter- and intraspecifc genetic diversity and phylogenetic cause serious, life-threatening, and invasive infections relationships, and the prevalence and distribution of such as amoebic dysentery and liver abscess [2]. Enta- Entamoeba species infecting populations living in difer- moeba histolytica produces tetranucleated cysts which ent Brazilian biomes. are indistinguishable from those produced by E. dispar. Te similarity of the cysts led to the adoption of the Methods nomenclature E. histolytica/E. dispar complex, which Description of study area and population, study design also includes Entamoeba moshkovskii, another tetranu- and sampling cleated cyst-producing species. Although E. dispar and Communities from cities located in four Brazilian biomes E. moshkovskii are considered to have less pathogenic were selected: Cachoeiras de Macacu (CAM) in the state potential [3], they have occasionally been associated with of Rio de Janeiro (Atlantic Forest biome), Teresina (TER) invasive disease [4, 5]. Tese fndings have led to the need and São João do Piauí (SJPI) in Piauí (Cerrado and Caat- for further studies to assess the epidemiology of indistin- inga biomes, respectively), and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro guishable tetranucleated amoebas [3]. Entamoeba species (SIRN) in Amazonas and Bagre (BAG) in Pará (Amazon that parasitize other animals can also infect humans [6]. biome) (Fig. 1). In the fve municipalities, the studied Entamoeba coli, which are considered a commensal communities had precarious access to drinking water and harmless organism, produce octonucleated cysts and and poor sanitation systems, to varying degrees and for can be considered a marker of inadequate sanitary con- distinct reasons. Table 1 shows the socio-environmental ditions, denoting greater exposure to other fecal patho- and demographic characteristics of each municipal- gens. Recently, however, potential pathogenicity has been ity and the number of individuals included in each one. attributed to this species. Mexican children infected with Tese regions difer with respect to climate, proportion E. coli have higher levels of stool leucocytes than unin- of the population living in poverty and human develop- fected children, pointing to the possibility of intestinal ment index, among other parameters. Cross-sectional infammatory activity triggered by this organism [7, 8]. studies were carried out in the included areas to collect Additionally, considerable intraspecifc genetic variability fecal samples and sociodemographic data. Entamoeba has been demonstrated for E. coli, which can be divided spp. fecal samples were identifed as positive using para- into two subtypes: E. coli ST1 and E. coli ST2 [9]. sitological methods (Ritchie’s modifed ethyl acetate cen- Typically, the clinical detection of Entamoeba spe- trifugation) [12]. cies in fecal samples has been performed through light microscopy. However, the overlap of morphological char- DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA acteristics between some species and the morphological sequencing and size variation in structures are limiting factors for Fecal samples positive on light microscopy were sub- microscopic species-specifc diagnosis [10]. Te imple- jected to molecular analyses for species characterization mentation of molecular tools for Entamoeba species and phylogenetic studies. In addition, some Entamoeba characterization has enabled a greater understanding of spp.-negative samples on microscopy were selected, their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships and epidemi- randomly or when another individual from the same ology [11]. household was positive, to be tested by PCR. Tis was Despite recent advances, the proportion of house- performed in order to improve the number of DNA holds without sanitation systems in many regions of Bra- sequences for genetic analyses. Genomic DNA was zil remains high. Te country has great socioeconomic, extracted from 200 µl of the sedimented fecal material environmental and demographic diversity, and appro- using the ZR Fungal/Bacterial DNA MiniPrep™ extrac- priate access to drinking water is restricted in many tion kit (Zymo Research, Irvine, CA, USA). PCR was Calegar et al. Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:160 Page 3 of 13 Fig. 1 Map of the studied areas in Brazil. The map was created using Google Earth Pro performed using the Platinum Taq DNA Polymerase kit Entamoeba species. Te obtained sequences were depos- (Invitrogen, Waltham, MA, USA), with a fnal volume of ited in GenBank under accession numbers MW026735– 50 μl. Te small subunit rRNA gene locus (SSU rDNA) MW026794. BioEdit version 7.2.5 [15] was used to align of Entamoeba spp. (550 base pairs [bp]) was targeted for
Recommended publications
  • First Report of Entamoeba Moshkovskii in Human Stool Samples From
    Kyany’a et al. Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines (2019) 5:23 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-019-0098-4 SHORT REPORT Open Access First report of Entamoeba moshkovskii in human stool samples from symptomatic and asymptomatic participants in Kenya Cecilia Kyany’a1,2* , Fredrick Eyase1,2, Elizabeth Odundo1, Erick Kipkirui1, Nancy Kipkemoi1, Ronald Kirera1, Cliff Philip1, Janet Ndonye1, Mary Kirui1, Abigael Ombogo1, Margaret Koech1, Wallace Bulimo1 and Christine E. Hulseberg3 Abstract Entamoeba moshkovskii is a member of the Entamoeba complex and a colonizer of the human gut. We used nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to differentiate Entamoeba species in stool samples that had previously been screened by microscopy. Forty-six samples were tested, 23 of which had previously been identified as Entamoeba complex positive by microscopy. Of the 46 specimens tested, we identified nine (19.5%) as E. moshkovskii-positive. In seven of these nine E. moshkovskii-positive samples, either E. dispar or E. histolytica (or both) were also identified, suggesting that co-infections may be common. E. moshkovskii was also detected in both symptomatic and asymptomatic participants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. moshkovskii in Kenya. Keywords: Entamoeba, Entamoeba moshkovskii, Diarrhea, Kenya, Nested PCR Introduction was isolated from both symptomatic and asymptomatic Entamoeba moshkovskii is a member of the Entamoeba participants [7]. A 2012 study by Shimokawa and collegues complex and is morphologically indistinguishable from E. [11] pointed to the possible pathogenicity of E. moshkovskii dispar and the pathogenic E. histolytica.WHOrecom- as a cause of diarrhea in mice and infants.
    [Show full text]
  • Entamoeba Histolytica
    Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Biochemical Technology Piotr Nowak1*, Katarzyna Mastalska1 Review Article and Jakub Loster2 1Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Microbiology, University Hospital in Krakow, 19 Entamoeba Histolytica - Pathogenic Kopernika Street, 31-501 Krakow, Poland 2Department of Infectious Diseases, University Protozoan of the Large Intestine in Hospital in Krakow, 5 Sniadeckich Street, 31-531 Krakow, Poland Humans Dates: Received: 01 December, 2015; Accepted: 29 December, 2015; Published: 30 December, 2015 *Corresponding author: Piotr Nowak, Laboratory of Abstract Parasitology, Department of Microbiology, University Entamoeba histolytica is a cosmopolitan, parasitic protozoan of human large intestine, which is Hospital in Krakow, 19 Kopernika Street, 31- 501 a causative agent of amoebiasis. Amoebiasis manifests with persistent diarrhea containing mucus Krakow, Poland, Tel: +4812/4247587; Fax: +4812/ or blood, accompanied by abdominal pain, flatulence, nausea and fever. In some cases amoebas 4247581; E-mail: may travel through the bloodstream from the intestine to the liver or to other organs, causing multiple www.peertechz.com abscesses. Amoebiasis is a dangerous, parasitic disease and after malaria the second cause of deaths related to parasitic infections worldwide. The highest rate of infections is observed among people living Keywords: Entamoeba histolytica; Entamoeba in or traveling through the tropics. Laboratory diagnosis of amoebiasis is quite difficult, comprising dispar; Entamoeba moshkovskii; Entamoeba of microscopy and methods of molecular biology. Pathogenic species Entamoeba histolytica has to histolytica sensu lato; Entamoeba histolytica sensu be differentiated from other nonpathogenic amoebas of the intestine, so called commensals, that stricto; commensals of the large intestine; amoebiasis very often live in the human large intestine and remain harmless.
    [Show full text]
  • Improved Genomic Assembly and Genomic Analyses of Entamoeba Histolytica
    Improved genomic assembly and genomic analyses of Entamoeba histolytica Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Amber Leckenby September 2018 Acknowledgements There are many people without whom this thesis would not have been possible. The list is long and I am truly grateful to each and every one. Firstly I have to thank my supervisors Gareth, Christiane, Neil and Steve for the continuous support throughout my PhD. Particularly, I am grateful to Gareth and Christiane, for their patience, motivation and immense knowledge that helped me through the entirety of the proJect from the initial research to the writing of this thesis. I cannot have imagined having better mentors and role models. I also have to thank the staff at the CGR for their role in the sequencing aspects of this thesis. My further thanks extend to the CGR bioinformatics team, most notably Richard, Matthew, Sam and Luca, for not only tolerating the number of bioinformatics questions I have asked them, but also providing great friendship and warmth in the office. I must also give a special mention to Graham Clark at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for sending cultures of Entamoeba and providing general advice, especially around the tRNA arrays. I would also like to thank David Starns, for his efforts troubleshooting the Companion pipeline and to Laura Gardiner for providing advice around all things methylation. My gratitude goes to the members of the many offices I have moved around during my PhD, many of which have become close friends who have got me through many bioinformatics conundrums, lab meltdowns and (some equally challenging) gym sessions.
    [Show full text]
  • (PCR) in Rural Communities in Malaysia Romano Ngui, Lorainne Angal, Siti Aminah Fakhrurrazi, Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, Lau Yee Ling, Jamaiah Ibrahim and Rohela Mahmud*
    Ngui et al. Parasites & Vectors 2012, 5:187 http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/5/1/187 RESEARCH Open Access Differentiating Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba moshkovskii using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in rural communities in Malaysia Romano Ngui, Lorainne Angal, Siti Aminah Fakhrurrazi, Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, Lau Yee Ling, Jamaiah Ibrahim and Rohela Mahmud* Abstract Background: In this study, a total of 426 human faecal samples were examined for the presence of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba moshkovskii infection via a combination of microscopic examination and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting 16S ribosomal RNA of Entamoeba species. Methods: Faecal sample were collected from 426 participants in five rural villages in Peninsular Malaysia. The faecal samples were processed by direct wet smear and formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique followed by iodine staining and examined via microscopy for the presence of Entamoeba species and other intestinal parasites. Microscopically positive samples for Entamoeba species cysts were further characterized using a Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (Nested-PCR) targeting 16S-like ribosomal RNA gene. The data entry and analysis was carried out using the SPSS software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program for Windows version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Based on single faecal examination, overall prevalence of Entamoeba infection was 17.6% (75/426). Females (19.1%) were more commonly infected compared to males (15.9%). Comparison by age groups showed that adults (23.9%) had higher infection rates than children (15.3%). The PCR results showed that 52 out of 75 microscopy positive samples successfully generated species-specific amplicons.
    [Show full text]
  • Molecular Epidemiology of Human Intestinal Amoebas in Iran in Amoebas Intestinal Human of Epidemiology Molecular Iranian J Publ Health, Vol
    Iranian J Publ Health, Vol. 41, No.9, Sep 2012, pp.10-17 Review Article Molecular Epidemiology of Human Intestinal Amoebas in Iran * H Hooshyar 1, P Rostamkhani 1, M Rezaian 2 1. Dept. of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran 2. Dept. of Medical Mycology & Parasitology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran *Corresponding Author: Tel: +98 361 5550021 Fax: +98 361 5551112 (Received 16 Mar 2012; accepted 12 Jul 2012) Abstract on Tuesday, October 09, 2012 Many microscopic-based epidemiological surveys on the prevalence of human intestinal pathogenic and non- pathogenic protozoa including intestinal amoeba performed in Iran show a high prevalence of human intestinal amoeba in different parts of Iran. Such epidemiological studies on amoebiasis are confusing, mainly due to recently appreciated distinction between the Entamoeba histolytica, E. dispar and E. moshkovskii. Differential diagnosis can be done by some methods such as PCR-based methods, monoclonal antibodies and the analysis of isoenzyme typing, however the molecular study of these protozoa in Iran is low. Based on molecular studies, it seems that E. dispar is predominant species especially in the central and northern areas of Iran and amoebiasis due to E. histolytica is a rare infection in the country. It is suggested that infection with E. moshkovskii may be common among Iranians. Considering the importance of molecular epidemiology of amoeba in Iran and also the current data, the present study reviews the data currently available on the molecular distribution of intestinal human amoeba in Iran. http://journals.tums.ac.ir/ Key words: Amoeba, Entamoeba, Molecular epidemiology, Iran Introduction Downloaded from Cases of transmissions for over 18 different hu- tinal amoeba are considered non-pathogenic and man intestinal protozoa have been reported in rarely cause intestinal disease in humans (3,4).
    [Show full text]
  • Entamoeba Histolytica and Non‑Virulent Entamoeba Moshkovskii in a Mouse Model Narumol Khomkhum1, Somphob Leetachewa2, Aulia Rahmi Pawestri1 and Saengduen Moonsom1*
    Khomkhum et al. Parasites Vectors (2019) 12:101 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3363-5 Parasites & Vectors RESEARCH Open Access Host-antibody inductivity of virulent Entamoeba histolytica and non-virulent Entamoeba moshkovskii in a mouse model Narumol Khomkhum1, Somphob Leetachewa2, Aulia Rahmi Pawestri1 and Saengduen Moonsom1* Abstract Background: Despite similarities in morphology, gene and protein profles, Entamoeba histolytica and E. moshko- vskii show profound diferences in pathogenicity. Entamoeba histolytica infection might result in amoebic dysentery and liver abscess, while E. moshkovskii causes only mild diarrhea. Extensive studies focus on roles of host immune responses to the pathogenic E. histolytica; however, evidence for E. moshkovskii remains scarce. Methods: To study diferences in host-antibody response profles between E. histolytica and E. moshkovskii, mice were immunized intraperitoneally with diferent sets of Entamoeba trophozoites as single species, mixed species and combinations. Results: Mice prime-immunized with E. histolytica and E. moshkovskii combination, followed by individual species, exhibited higher IgG level than the single species immunization. Mice immunized with E. moshkovskii induced sig- nifcantly higher levels and long-lasting antibody responses than those challenged with E. histolytica alone. Interest- ingly, E. histolytica-specifc anti-sera promoted the cytopathic ability of E. histolytica toward Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells, but showed no efect on cell adhesion. There was no signifcant efect of immunized sera on cytopathic activity and adhesion of E. moshkovskii toward both CHO and human epithelial human colonic (Caco-2) cell lines. Monoclonal-antibody (mAb) characterization demonstrated that 89% of E. histolytica-specifc mAbs produced from mice targeted cytoplasmic and cytoskeletal proteins, whereas 73% of E.
    [Show full text]
  • Use of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction to Identify Entamoeba Histolytica in Schoolchildren from Northwest Mexico
    Original Article Use of real-time polymerase chain reaction to identify Entamoeba histolytica in schoolchildren from northwest Mexico Sandra Aguayo-Patrón, Reyna Castillo-Fimbres, Luis Quihui-Cota, Ana María Calderón de la Barca Coordinación de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A. C., Hermosillo, Sonora, México Abstract Introduction: Entamoeba histolytica, E. dispar, and E. moshkovskii are morphologically identical, but intestinal amebiasis is caused only by E. histolytica. Mexico is among the countries with high amebae infection rates, although the contribution of pathogenic amoeba to the total detected cases remains unknown, especially in the northwestern dry region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the actual prevalence of E. histolytica using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in schoolchildren of northwestern Mexico. Methodology: Participants were children from five public elementary schools in the low-socioeconomic-level suburban areas of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. One stool sample was collected from each child and analyzed by the Faust technique for Entamoeba spp. and by real-time PCR for E. histolytica. Results: Analysis of stool samples from 273 children (9.0 ± 1.5 years of age) resulted in 25 (9.2%) positive for E. histolytica/E. dispar/E. moshkovskii by the Faust technique; of these, 3 were positive for E. histolytica by real-time PCR. In addition, 2 samples that were negative for E. histolytica/E. dispar/E. moshkovskii by the Faust technique were positive by real-time PCR. Conclusions: The actual prevalence of E. histolytica in our study population was 1.8%, which is lower than those reported in previous studies in other Mexican regions.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of DA Locus of Trna-Linked Short Tandem Repeats Reveals
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Analysis of D-A locus of tRNA-linked short tandem repeats reveals transmission of Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar among students in the Thai-Myanmar border region of northwest Thailand 1,2 1 2 3 Urassaya PattanawongID , Chaturong Putaporntip , Azumi Kakino , Naoko Yoshida , 4 1 1 a1111111111 Seiki Kobayashi , Surasuk YanmaneeID , Somchai Jongwutiwes *, 2 a1111111111 Hiroshi TachibanaID * a1111111111 a1111111111 1 Molecular Biology of Malaria and Opportunistic Parasites Research Unit, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2 Department of Parasitology, Tokai a1111111111 University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan, 3 Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan, 4 Department of Infectious Diseases, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan * [email protected] (SJ); [email protected] (HT) OPEN ACCESS Citation: Pattanawong U, Putaporntip C, Kakino A, Yoshida N, Kobayashi S, Yanmanee S, et al. (2021) Abstract Analysis of D-A locus of tRNA-linked short tandem repeats reveals transmission of Entamoeba Intestinal parasitic infections, including those caused by Entamoeba species, are a persis- histolytica and E. dispar among students in the tent problem in rural areas of Thailand. The aims of this study were to identify pathogenic Thai-Myanmar border region of northwest Entamoeba species and to analyze their genotypic diversity. Stool samples were collected Thailand. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 15(2): e0009188. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009188 from 1,233 students of three schools located in the Thai-Myanmar border region of Tak Province, Thailand. The prevalence of Entamoeba infection was measured by polymerase Editor: Kevin SW Tan, National University of Singapore, SINGAPORE chain reaction (PCR) using species-specific primers.
    [Show full text]
  • Molecular Characterisation of Virulence in Entamoeba Histolytica
    Molecular Characterisation of Virulence in Entamoeba histolytica Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Kanok Preativatanyou April 2015 Acknowledgement s My sincerest gratitude and thanks go to Prof. Neil Hall and Prof. Steve Paterson for their supervision, knowledge, care and support throughout this PhD. I am very delighted to have been given the opportunity to learn how to think integratively about Biology and explain wisely in an evolutionary sense. Over the past four years, Neil has taught me different ways of how to comprehensively approach and solve the problems, changing my learning attitude into the better direction than ever. This makes me very impressed and I will be very fortunate if I have a chance to collaborate with them in the long run! Heartfelt thanks also go to Dr. Gareth Weedall who has provided me with a lot of knowledge, guidance, inspiration as well as warm encouragement. He often advises me to analyse the data carefully and professionally, upgrading my research skills and performance. Every time I can answer his difficult questions, I get more self confident and relaxed. I have always been very grateful for all his special attention and warm kindness. Absolutely, I can say that Gareth has contributed a lot of success to me in this PhD! To Dr. Xuan Liu and Dr. Yongxiang Fang, I really appreciate their wonderful Linux command lines and statistical scripts. As Xuan said ‘You are in the Big Data Era’, this sentence really motivated me to explore more about Bioinformatics.
    [Show full text]
  • Parasite Epidemiology and Control 9 (2020) E00131
    Parasite Epidemiology and Control 9 (2020) e00131 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Parasite Epidemiology and Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/parepi Differentiation of Blastocystis and parasitic archamoebids encountered in untreated wastewater samples by amplicon-based next-generation sequencing Christen Rune Stensvold a,⁎, Marianne Lebbad b, Anette Hansen b,JessicaBeserb, Salem Belkessa a,c,d, Lee O'Brien Andersen a, C. Graham Clark e a Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK–2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark b Department of Microbiology, Public Health Agency of Sweden, SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden c Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Biological and Agronomic Sciences, Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi Ouzou, 15000 Tizi Ouzou, Algeria d Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Natural and Life Sciences, Mohamed Khider University of Biskra, 07000 Biskra, Algeria e Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK article info abstract Article history: Background: Application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to genomic DNA extracted from Received 20 September 2019 sewage offers a unique and cost-effective opportunity to study the genetic diversity of intesti- Received in revised form 6 November 2019 nal parasites. In this study, we used amplicon-based NGS to reveal and differentiate several Accepted 16 December 2019 fi Available online xxxx common luminal intestinal parasitic protists, speci cally Entamoeba, Endolimax, Iodamoeba, and Blastocystis, in sewage samples from Swedish treatment plants. fl Keywords: Materials and methods: In uent sewage samples were subject to gradient centrifugation, DNA fi fi Sewage extraction and PCR-based ampli cation using three primer pairs designed for ampli cation of Topic: eukaryotic nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA.
    [Show full text]
  • Molecular Identification and Prevalence of Entamoeba Histolytica, Entamoeba Dispar and Entamoeba Moshkovskii in Erbil City, Northern Iraq
    Polish Journal of Microbiology ORIGINAL PAPER 2020, Vol. 69, Article in Press https://doi.org/10.33073/pjm-2020-028 Molecular Identification and Prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba moshkovskii in Erbil City, Northern Iraq SHLER AKRAM FAQE MAHMOOD1, 2* and HAWRI BAKR MUSTAFA2 1 Microbiology Department, College of Medicine, Sulaimani University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq 2 Basic Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq Submitted 31 March 2020, revised 6 June 2020, accepted 18 June 2020 Abstract The present study was conducted to evaluate the infection rates of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, and Entamoeba moshkovskii among asymptomatic individuals in Erbil City, northern Iraq. The research intent was to discover whether pathogenic or nonpathogenic species cause a high rate of symptomless Entamoeba infections. Stool samples were microscopically examined, and the 18S-rRNA gene was targeted utilizing the nested PCR technique in the positive specimens. Initial results based on morphological features showed that the Entamoeba prevalence rate was 7.4%. Significantly higher rates of infections were seen in females than in males and in low-income people than in moderate-income people. The incidence rates among the asymptomatic individuals, as determined by molecular analysis, were as follows: E. histolytica – 6%, E. dispar – 4.3%, and E. moshkovskii – 0.3%. Of all the Entamoeba positive samples, a single infection with E. histolytica was identified in 41.4% samples; the single infection with E. dispar in 18.6% samples, 35.7% samples had mixed infections with two Entamoeba species, and 4.3% had mixed infections with three species.
    [Show full text]
  • Panding the Entamoeba Universe: New Hosts Yield Novel Ribosomal Lineages
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSHTM Research Online Jacob, AS; Busby, EJ; Levy, AD; Komm, N; Clark, CG (2015) Ex- panding the Entamoeba Universe: New Hosts Yield Novel Ribosomal Lineages. The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology, 63 (1). pp. 69-78. ISSN 1066-5234 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12249 Downloaded from: http://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/2228433/ DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12249 Usage Guidelines Please refer to usage guidelines at http://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/policies.html or alterna- tively contact [email protected]. Available under license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ 1 Running head: Expanding the Entamoeba universe 2 3 4 Expanding the Entamoeba Universe: New Hosts Yield Novel Ribosomal Lineages 1 5 6 Alison S. Jacoba, Eloise J. Busbya, Abigail D. Levya, 2, Natasha Komma and C. Graham 7 Clarka 8 9 a Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical 10 Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, England, GB 11 12 13 Key words: Entamoeba, Genetic Diversity, Phylogeny, Ribosomal RNA, Sequencing 14 15 1 – This paper is dedicated to Govinda S. Visvesvara on the occasion of his retirement. 16 2 – Current Address: Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics Department, Hammersmith 17 Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London W12 0HS, England, GB 18 19 Corresponding Author: C. Graham Clark, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, 20 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, 21 England, GB. Telephone number: +44-20-7927-2351; FAX number: +44-20-7636-8739; 22 email: [email protected] 23 ABSTRACT 24 25 Removing the requirement for cell culture has led to a substantial increase in the number 26 of lineages of Entamoeba recognized as distinct.
    [Show full text]