Fungal organisms of the genus Pneumocystis may cause Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in humans, but also domestic and wild mammals. Almost every animal species hosts its own genetically distinct Pneumocystis species, however information is sparse. In this study, 62 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and 37 raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) were collected in North-East Germany. The lung tissues of the animals were analysed by a new designed specific pan-Pneumocystis mtLSU rRNA gene PCR and sequencing. With this PCR, detection and discrimination of all known Pneumocystis spp. in a single step should be possible. This first detection of Pneumocystis spp. in 29/62 (46.8%) red foxes and 29/37 (78.4%) raccoon dogs indicated, that they harbour two dissimilar strains, as seen by specific single nucleotide position changes (SNPs). Nevertheless, five samples with contrary SNPs showed a probable inter-species transmission.

肺孢子虫属的真菌生物可能导致人类以及家养和野生哺乳动物的肺孢子虫肺炎（PCP）。几乎每种动物都拥有自己的遗传上不同的肺孢菌种，但是信息很少。在这项研究中，在东北德国收集了62只狐狸（Vulpes vulpes）和37只子（Nyctereutes procyonoides）。通过新设计的特异性泛肺囊虫mtLSU rRNA基因PCR和测序分析动物的肺组织。通过这种PCR，可以检测和鉴别所有已知的肺孢菌。在一个步骤中应该是可能的。肺囊肿的首次发现spp。在29/62（46.8％）的红狐狸和29/37（78.4％）的dog子中，有两个不同的毒株，如特定的单核苷酸位置变化（SNP）所示。尽管如此，五个具有相反SNP的样品显示出可能的种间传播。