Exploring Blastocystis genetic diversity in rural schoolchildren from Colombia using next-generation amplicon sequencing reveals significant associations between contact with animals and infection risk

Autores organización

• 

  Liliana Morales De La Pava

  Autor

• Jacqueline Chaparro Olaya

  Autor

Autores

• Hernández PC
• Maloney JG
• Molokin A
• George NS
• Santin M

Grupos de investigación

• Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular

  Investigador

  Jacqueline Chaparro Olaya

Resumen

Blastocystis is a common intestinal protist with a global distribution in humans and many other animals. Yet, the status of Blastocystis as a pathogen, the risk factors associated with its transmission, and its zoonotic potential remain ill-defined. Here, we explored subtype (ST) diversity and potential risk factors for Blastocystis infection in 98 children from Apulo, Colombia. Samples were screened for Blastocystis via PCR, and ST identification was performed through next-generation amplicon sequencing (NGS). Associations between the presence of Blastocystis and individual STs and sociodemographic variables were assessed via logistic regression analyses. Seventy-one samples (72.4%) were Blastocystis-positive, and NGS revealed the presence of five STs (ST1-ST5). ST1, ST2, and ST3 were common and observed in nearly equal proportions (~ 40%), while samples with ST4 (1.4%) and ST5 (5.6%) were comparatively rare. The presence of mixed STs in the same sample was also common (28.2%). Comparisons among children within the same household identified that shared ST profiles were common, but diversity within family units was also observed. Logistic regression analyses returned significant associations between the presence of Blastocystis, individual subtypes, or mixed subtypes for several variables. Intriguingly, the presence of animals was one of the most common significant associations. Taken together, these data represent an important step forward in understanding both the potential routes and risk factors that may influence Blastocystis transmission and will be useful in shaping future studies which seek to clarify the relationships between STs, pathogenicity, and zoonotic transmission. © 2023, This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.

© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.

Keywords

• Animals; Blastocystis; Blastocystis Infections; Child; Colombia; DNA, Protozoan; Feces; Genetic Variation; Humans; Phylogeny; Prevalence; protozoal DNA; adolescent; amplicon; Article; Blastocystis; blastocystosis; child; Clostridioides difficile; coinfection; Colombia; controlled study; cross-sectional study; disease association; female; genetic variability; high throughput sequencing; household; human; infection risk; intestine flora; major clinical study; male; nonhuman; nucleotide sequence; nucleotide sequence; pathogenicity; polymerase chain reaction; practice guideline; prevalence; questionnaire; risk factor; rural area; zoonotic transmission; animal; blastocystosis; feces; genetic variation; genetics; phylogeny