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. 2021 Feb 14;10(2):206.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens10020206.

Multilocus Genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in Mostly Asymptomatic Indigenous People from the Tapirapé Tribe, Brazilian Amazon

Pamela Carolina Köster  1 , Antonio F Malheiros  2   3 , Jeffrey J Shaw  4 , Sooria Balasegaram  5 , Alexander Prendergast  6 , Héloïse Lucaccioni  7 , Luciana Melhorança Moreira  3 , Larissa M S Lemos  8 , Alejandro Dashti  1 , Begoña Bailo  1 , Arlei Marcili  9   10 , Herbert Sousa Soares  9 , Solange Maria Gennari  9   10 , Rafael Calero-Bernal  11 , David González-Barrio  1 , David Carmena  1
Affiliations

Multilocus Genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in Mostly Asymptomatic Indigenous People from the Tapirapé Tribe, Brazilian Amazon

Pamela Carolina Köster et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Little information is available on the occurrence and genetic variability of the diarrhoea-causing enteric protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis in indigenous communities in Brazil. This cross-sectional epidemiological survey describes the frequency, genotypes, and risk associations for this pathogen in Tapirapé people (Brazilian Amazon) at four sampling campaigns during 2008-2009. Microscopy was used as a screening test, and molecular (PCR and Sanger sequencing) assays targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA, the glutamate dehydrogenase, the beta-giardin, and the triosephosphate isomerase genes as confirmatory/genotyping methods. Associations between G. duodenalis and sociodemographic and clinical variables were investigated using Chi-squared test and univariable/multivariable logistic regression models. Overall, 574 individuals belonging to six tribes participated in the study, with G. duodenalis prevalence rates varying from 13.5-21.7%. The infection was positively linked to younger age and tribe. Infected children <15 years old reported more frequent gastrointestinal symptoms compared to adults. Assemblage B accounted for three out of four G. duodenalis infections and showed a high genetic diversity. No association between assemblage and age or occurrence of diarrhoea was demonstrated. These data indicate that the most likely source of infection was anthropic and that different pathways (e.g., drinking water) may be involved in the transmission of the parasite.

Keywords: Amazon; Brazil; Giardia; Tapirapé; asymptomatic; community; genotyping; indigenous; risk association; transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maximum parsimony phylogenetic tree based on gdh sequences of G. duodenalis. Numbers on nodes indicate the bootstrap/posterior probability values. Black filled circles represent sequences generated in the present study. GenBank accession numbers for all sequences used for the phylogenetic analysis were embedded in the tree. Giardia muris was used as the outgroup.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of single nucleotide polymorphisms segregated by mutations and double peaks, in G. duodenalis assemblage B sequences. (A) Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) locus; (B) SNPs at the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi); (C) SNPs at the beta-giardin (bg) locus, and overall figures for all assemblage B sequences.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Map showing the exact geographical location of the sites sampled in the present study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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