Molecular-Based Detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Farmed Masked Palm Civets (Paguma larvata) in Hainan, China: A High-Prevalence, Specificity, and Zoonotic Potential of ITS Genotypes

Abstract

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a microsporidian and zoonotic species. This study investigated the prevalence and distribution of E. bieneusi genotypes in farmed masked palm civets using nested PCR, as well as assessed their zoonotic potential by phylogenetic analysis of the ITS region of the rRNA region. Here, we collected 251 fecal specimens from farmed masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) from the Hainan Island, China. In total, 128 of 251 samples were positive for E. bieneusi, with an average infection rate of 51.0%. Seventeen genotypes were identified including 12 known genotypes-HNR-VI (n = 56), SHR1 (n = 45), SHW7 (n = 6), KIN-1 (n = 3), D (n = 3), New1 (n = 3), EbpC (n = 2), CHC5 (n = 1), CHG19 (n = 1), CHN4 (n = 1), EbpA (n = 1), and Henan-III (n = 1)-and five novel genotypes (HNPL-I to HNPL-II; one each). Phylogenetic analysis categorized these genotypes into two groups. Thirteen of them were members of the zoonotic group 1, and the remaining four genotypes were in group 12. This study has shown that the infection rates of E. bieneusi in masked palm civets from Hainan were relatively high and provide baseline data to control and prevent microsporidiosis in farm-related communities. Therefore, infections in masked palm civets with zoonotic genotypes D, EbpC, CHN4, EbpA, KIN-1, and Henan-III should be considered potential threats to public health.

Keywords: Enterocytozoon bieneusi; Hainan; masked palm civets; molecular-based detection; zoonotic.

Figure 1

The colored locations where samples were collected.

Figure 2

Phylogenetic relationship of the Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes. A neighbor joining (NJ) tree was done to infer the relationships of the E. bieneusi genotypes identified here and the known ones (GenBank). The numbers on the branches represent % bootstrap values for 1,000 replicates; the values generated >50% are shown beside the nodes. The host origin, accession number, and genotype designation were used to identify individual sequences. The filled squares and circles represent the known and novel genotypes identified here, respectively.