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. 2025 Aug 7;70(4):168.
doi: 10.1007/s11686-025-01114-y.

Genetic Characteristics of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Cattle from Hebei Province, China

Yuxin Sun  1 , Jing Zhang  1 , Yan Cui  1 , Yan Zhao  1 , Xin Yang  1 , Huizhu Nan  1 , Lei Ma  2
Affiliations

Genetic Characteristics of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Cattle from Hebei Province, China

Yuxin Sun et al. Acta Parasitol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi) is a microsporidium that causes intestinal disease in animals and humans, and transmits person to person and/or animals to people. A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity E. bieneusi infection in cattle in Hebei Province, China.

Methods: A total of 2,746 cattle fecal samples were collected from 11 cities in Hebei Province. PCR amplification targeting the ITS gene of E. bieneusi was performed to detect infections. The subtypes, sequence signatures, pairwise genetic distances, and genetic diversity indices were analyzed using MEGA, PhyloSuite, and PopART.

Results: The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in cattle was 4.70% (129/2746). The infection rate varied significantly by region, age, breeding mode, and cattle type: higher in southern Hebei, cattle under one year old, intensively raised cattle, and dairy cattle. Six genotypes were identified (CHG3, SX1, BEB4, BEB6, BEB8, and J), with BEB6 being the dominant genotype. Sequence analysis revealed 260 polymorphic and conserved sites, including 41 variable sites (15.77% of total nucleotides). The nucleotide diversity index (Pi) was 0.06472, and the haplotype diversity index (Hd) was 1.000.

Conclusion: This study provides the first comprehensive epidemiological data on E. bieneusi infection in cattle in Hebei Province and highlights its rich genetic diversity. These findings offer insights into the potential risk of zoonotic transmission and serve as a reference for further control and prevention strategies.

Keywords: Enterocytozoon bieneusi; Cattle; Epidemiology; Genetic diversity; Genotype.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Statement: This study complied with the guidelines of the Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals and was approved by the Biomedical Ethical Committee of Hebei Normal University, Hebei, China (ID: 2022LLSC024).

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