Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.

Cryptosporidium spp. is a protozoan having the potential to cause zoonosis in humans and animals. Despite the zoonotic importance of this protozoan parasite, limited data are available about its prevalence in zoo felids in North-Eastern China. Hence, the current study was designed to determine the o...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shakeel Hussain, Syed Mohsin Bukhari, Lixin Wang, Nimra Khalid, Zhijun Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2021-08-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/11819.pdf
_version_ 1797417637552062464
author Shakeel Hussain
Syed Mohsin Bukhari
Lixin Wang
Nimra Khalid
Zhijun Hou
author_facet Shakeel Hussain
Syed Mohsin Bukhari
Lixin Wang
Nimra Khalid
Zhijun Hou
author_sort Shakeel Hussain
collection DOAJ
description Cryptosporidium spp. is a protozoan having the potential to cause zoonosis in humans and animals. Despite the zoonotic importance of this protozoan parasite, limited data are available about its prevalence in zoo felids in North-Eastern China. Hence, the current study was designed to determine the occurrence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. from the fecal samples of captive zoo felids. Fecal samples (N = 244) were collected from different felids from five different zoos of North-Eastern China. 18S rRNA gene was amplified from the genomic DNA using species specific primers in nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium spp. was found. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 9.43% (23/244). The 18S rRNA gene similarity analysis showed that 6 Cryptosporidium isolates were Cryptosporidium parvum and the remaining 17 Cryptosporidium isolates were resembling to a Cryptosporidium spp., which is similar to Cryptosporidium NEV10. Phylogenetic tree was constructed based on 18S rRNA of Cryptosporidium spp. The similarity of Cryptosporidium parvum was with its other isolates in China, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Czech Republic, Spain and USA while Cryptosporidium NEV10 alike had a close relationship with Turkish isolates. In conclusion, Cryptosporidium was prevailing in feline animals of China zoo and zoo officials are directed to consider their control policy as it can be a cause of zoonosis.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T06:22:39Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3e06574c25f941e18f938d9379bd8e62
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2167-8359
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T06:22:39Z
publishDate 2021-08-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj.art-3e06574c25f941e18f938d9379bd8e622023-12-03T11:34:03ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592021-08-019e1181910.7717/peerj.11819Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.Shakeel Hussain0Syed Mohsin Bukhari1Lixin Wang2Nimra Khalid3Zhijun Hou4College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaDepartment of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, PakistanCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaDepartment of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, PakistanCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaCryptosporidium spp. is a protozoan having the potential to cause zoonosis in humans and animals. Despite the zoonotic importance of this protozoan parasite, limited data are available about its prevalence in zoo felids in North-Eastern China. Hence, the current study was designed to determine the occurrence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. from the fecal samples of captive zoo felids. Fecal samples (N = 244) were collected from different felids from five different zoos of North-Eastern China. 18S rRNA gene was amplified from the genomic DNA using species specific primers in nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium spp. was found. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 9.43% (23/244). The 18S rRNA gene similarity analysis showed that 6 Cryptosporidium isolates were Cryptosporidium parvum and the remaining 17 Cryptosporidium isolates were resembling to a Cryptosporidium spp., which is similar to Cryptosporidium NEV10. Phylogenetic tree was constructed based on 18S rRNA of Cryptosporidium spp. The similarity of Cryptosporidium parvum was with its other isolates in China, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Czech Republic, Spain and USA while Cryptosporidium NEV10 alike had a close relationship with Turkish isolates. In conclusion, Cryptosporidium was prevailing in feline animals of China zoo and zoo officials are directed to consider their control policy as it can be a cause of zoonosis.https://peerj.com/articles/11819.pdfCryptosporidiumZoo felids18S rRNA genePrevalencePhylogenetic
spellingShingle Shakeel Hussain
Syed Mohsin Bukhari
Lixin Wang
Nimra Khalid
Zhijun Hou
Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
PeerJ
Cryptosporidium
Zoo felids
18S rRNA gene
Prevalence
Phylogenetic
title Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
title_full Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
title_fullStr Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
title_full_unstemmed Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
title_short Exploration of Zoo felids in North-East China for the prevalence and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp.
title_sort exploration of zoo felids in north east china for the prevalence and molecular identification of cryptosporidium spp
topic Cryptosporidium
Zoo felids
18S rRNA gene
Prevalence
Phylogenetic
url https://peerj.com/articles/11819.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT shakeelhussain explorationofzoofelidsinnortheastchinafortheprevalenceandmolecularidentificationofcryptosporidiumspp
AT syedmohsinbukhari explorationofzoofelidsinnortheastchinafortheprevalenceandmolecularidentificationofcryptosporidiumspp
AT lixinwang explorationofzoofelidsinnortheastchinafortheprevalenceandmolecularidentificationofcryptosporidiumspp
AT nimrakhalid explorationofzoofelidsinnortheastchinafortheprevalenceandmolecularidentificationofcryptosporidiumspp
AT zhijunhou explorationofzoofelidsinnortheastchinafortheprevalenceandmolecularidentificationofcryptosporidiumspp