Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis

Giardia duodenalis, originally regarded as a commensal organism, is the etiologic agent of giardiasis, a gastrointestinal disease of humans and animals. Giardiasis causes major public and veterinary health concerns worldwide. Transmission is either direct, through the faecal-oral route, or indirect,...

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Authors: Sprong, Hein; Cacciò, Simone M; van der Giessen, Joke W B; ZOOPNET network and partners; Rubio Muñoz, Jose Miguel; Fuentes Corripio, Isabel
Format: Article
Publication date:2009
Country:España
Institution:Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Repository:Repisalud
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/16292
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/16292
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Animals
Cats
Cattle
DNA, Protozoan
Dogs
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Giardia lamblia
Giardiasis
Goats
Humans
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Sheep
Swine
Zoonoses
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author Sprong, Hein
author2 Cacciò, Simone M
van der Giessen, Joke W B
ZOOPNET network and partners
Rubio Muñoz, Jose Miguel
Fuentes Corripio, Isabel
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author_browse Cacciò, Simone M
Fuentes Corripio, Isabel
Rubio Muñoz, Jose Miguel
Sprong, Hein
ZOOPNET network and partners
van der Giessen, Joke W B
author_facet Sprong, Hein
Cacciò, Simone M
van der Giessen, Joke W B
ZOOPNET network and partners
Rubio Muñoz, Jose Miguel
Fuentes Corripio, Isabel
author_role author
collection Repisalud
description Giardia duodenalis, originally regarded as a commensal organism, is the etiologic agent of giardiasis, a gastrointestinal disease of humans and animals. Giardiasis causes major public and veterinary health concerns worldwide. Transmission is either direct, through the faecal-oral route, or indirect, through ingestion of contaminated water or food. Genetic characterization of G. duodenalis isolates has revealed the existence of seven groups (assemblages A to G) which differ in their host distribution. Assemblages A and B are found in humans and in many other mammals, but the role of animals in the epidemiology of human infection is still unclear, despite the fact that the zoonotic potential of Giardia was recognised by the WHO some 30 years ago. Here, we performed an extensive genetic characterization of 978 human and 1440 animal isolates, which together comprise 3886 sequences from 4 genetic loci. The data were assembled into a molecular epidemiological database developed by a European network of public and veterinary health Institutions. Genotyping was performed at different levels of resolution (single and multiple loci on the same dataset). The zoonotic potential of both assemblages A and B is evident when studied at the level of assemblages, sub-assemblages, and even at each single locus. However, when genotypes are defined using a multi-locus sequence typing scheme, only 2 multi-locus genotypes (MLG) of assemblage A and none of assemblage B appear to have a zoonotic potential. Surprisingly, mixtures of genotypes in individual isolates were repeatedly observed. Possible explanations are the uptake of genetically different Giardia cysts by a host, or subsequent infection of an already infected host, likely without overt symptoms, with a different Giardia species, which may cause disease. Other explanations for mixed genotypes, particularly for assemblage B, are substantial allelic sequence heterogeneity and/or genetic recombination. Although the zoonotic potential of G. duodenalis is evident, evidence on the contribution and frequency is (still) lacking. This newly developed molecular database has the potential to tackle intricate epidemiological questions concerning protozoan diseases.
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instname_str Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
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network_name_str España
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publishDate 2009
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spelling Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis Sprong, Hein Cacciò, Simone M van der Giessen, Joke W B ZOOPNET network and partners Rubio Muñoz, Jose Miguel Fuentes Corripio, Isabel Animals Cats Cattle DNA, Protozoan Dogs Genetic Variation Genotype Giardia lamblia Giardiasis Goats Humans Molecular Sequence Data Phylogeny Sheep Swine Zoonoses Giardia duodenalis, originally regarded as a commensal organism, is the etiologic agent of giardiasis, a gastrointestinal disease of humans and animals. Giardiasis causes major public and veterinary health concerns worldwide. Transmission is either direct, through the faecal-oral route, or indirect, through ingestion of contaminated water or food. Genetic characterization of G. duodenalis isolates has revealed the existence of seven groups (assemblages A to G) which differ in their host distribution. Assemblages A and B are found in humans and in many other mammals, but the role of animals in the epidemiology of human infection is still unclear, despite the fact that the zoonotic potential of Giardia was recognised by the WHO some 30 years ago. Here, we performed an extensive genetic characterization of 978 human and 1440 animal isolates, which together comprise 3886 sequences from 4 genetic loci. The data were assembled into a molecular epidemiological database developed by a European network of public and veterinary health Institutions. Genotyping was performed at different levels of resolution (single and multiple loci on the same dataset). The zoonotic potential of both assemblages A and B is evident when studied at the level of assemblages, sub-assemblages, and even at each single locus. However, when genotypes are defined using a multi-locus sequence typing scheme, only 2 multi-locus genotypes (MLG) of assemblage A and none of assemblage B appear to have a zoonotic potential. Surprisingly, mixtures of genotypes in individual isolates were repeatedly observed. Possible explanations are the uptake of genetically different Giardia cysts by a host, or subsequent infection of an already infected host, likely without overt symptoms, with a different Giardia species, which may cause disease. Other explanations for mixed genotypes, particularly for assemblage B, are substantial allelic sequence heterogeneity and/or genetic recombination. Although the zoonotic potential of G. duodenalis is evident, evidence on the contribution and frequency is (still) lacking. This newly developed molecular database has the potential to tackle intricate epidemiological questions concerning protozoan diseases. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/16292
spellingShingle Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
Sprong, Hein
Animals
Cats
Cattle
DNA, Protozoan
Dogs
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Giardia lamblia
Giardiasis
Goats
Humans
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Sheep
Swine
Zoonoses
title Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
title_full Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
title_fullStr Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
title_full_unstemmed Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
title_short Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
title_sort Identification of zoonotic genotypes of Giardia duodenalis
topic Animals
Cats
Cattle
DNA, Protozoan
Dogs
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Giardia lamblia
Giardiasis
Goats
Humans
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Sheep
Swine
Zoonoses
topic_facet Animals
Cats
Cattle
DNA, Protozoan
Dogs
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Giardia lamblia
Giardiasis
Goats
Humans
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Sheep
Swine
Zoonoses
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/16292