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. 2025 Jun 27;15(13):1899.
doi: 10.3390/ani15131899.

Molecular Identification and Survey of Tetratrichomonas buttreyi and Pentatrichomonas hominis in Cattle in Shanxi Province, North China

Yu-Xuan Wang  1 , Tao Jia  1 , Zi-Rui Wang  1 , Jin-Long Wang  1 , Ze-Dong Zhang  1 , Ze-Xuan Wu  1 , Wen-Wei Gao  1 , Xing-Quan Zhu  1   2 , Qing Liu  1
Affiliations

Molecular Identification and Survey of Tetratrichomonas buttreyi and Pentatrichomonas hominis in Cattle in Shanxi Province, North China

Yu-Xuan Wang et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Several trichomonad species have already been reported from cattle, including Tetratrichomonas buttreyi and Pentatrichomonas hominis. However, there is currently a lack of information concerning the prevalence of trichomonad species in cattle in Shanxi Province, North China. In this study, 761 fecal samples from cattle across three counties in Shanxi Province, namely Qi, Jishan, and Shanyin, were examined for the presence of T. buttreyi and P. hominis DNA through a nested PCR assay targeting a specific segment of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. The results showed that the total prevalence of T. buttreyi in cattle was found to be 74.5%, with region and sex identified as risk factors for infection. P. hominis exhibited an overall prevalence of 3.0%, with strong associations observed between infection and both region and age. Sequencing analysis indicated that some T. buttreyi isolates and all P. hominis isolates were identical to those reported previously based on the analysis of SSU rRNA sequences, while certain T. buttreyi isolates exhibited minor allelic variations. These results enhance our understanding of the geographical distribution and genetic characterization of T. buttreyi and P. hominis in cattle.

Keywords: Shanxi Province; cattle; prevalence; sequence analysis; trichomonads.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative PCR products were visualized by 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis analysis. (A) Lane M: DNA molecular weight marker (100 bp); lane P: positive control; lane N: negative control; lanes 1–2, 5, and 7: dairy cattle fecal samples positive for T. buttreyi; lanes 3–4, and 6: dairy cattle fecal samples negative for T. buttreyi. (B) Lane M: DNA molecular weight marker (100 bp); lane P: positive control; lane N: negative control; lanes 1–5: beef cattle fecal samples positive for T. buttreyi. (C) Lane M: DNA molecular weight marker (100 bp); lane P: positive control; lane N: negative control; lanes 1–5: dairy cattle fecal samples positive for P. hominis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sequences of the partial SSU rRNA gene from representative T. buttreyi isolates identified in the present study (PP499027–PP499032, PP499034–PP499037, PP499039–PP499041, PP499043, PP499045–PP499046, and PP499048–PP499049) were aligned against a reference sequence (MK880285). Dots indicate nucleotide bases that are identical to the consensus sequence, while a dash indicates that a nucleotide base was not included for analysis in the present study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The representative sequence of P. hominis identified in the present study (PP503147) was aligned against reference sequences. Dots indicate nucleotide bases that are identical to the consensus sequence.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Phylogenetic relationships using neighbor-joining analysis among trichomonad isolates based on the SSU rRNA nucleotide sequences. Black triangles: the representative SSU rRNA sequences of T. buttreyi isolates derived from dairy cattle in this study; black circles: the representative SSU rRNA sequences of T. buttreyi isolates derived from beef cattle in this study; black pentagrams: the representative SSU rRNA sequences of T. buttreyi detected in both dairy and beef cattle isolates.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on the SSU rRNA gene sequences shows the position of P. hominis isolates obtained in this study. The black circle indicates the representative SSU rRNA sequence of P. hominis isolates derived from cattle in this study.
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